Sign In Sign-Up

Welcome!

Close

Would you like to make this site your homepage? It's fast and easy...

Yes, Please make this my home page!

No Thanks

  Don't show this to me again.

Close

The Game - Master of Puppets -- by Saber ShadowKitten

Rating: NC-17

Description: Buffy gets an invitation to the Endgame.

Note: Lyrics: NIN, Metallica, Type O Negative, Guns N' Roses, Machines of Loving Grace

Disclaimer: This author does not claim to own Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

"Hand me that red one, Will," Buffy said as she pulled her shirt over her head.

"This one?" Willow asked, taking a dress out of the closet. She turned to face Buffy and almost dropped it. "Buffy, what happened?"

"These?" Buffy said, gesturing to the as yet unhealed, deep scratches and bites that littered her torso and radiated from under her bra. "Spike's been a little...enthusiastic, lately."

"Enthusiastic?" Willow said, unbelievingly. "More like savage. Or violent. Or abusive. Or-"

"Will, it's not like that," she interrupted. "I give as good as I get."

"Yeah, but you've never looked this bad before," Willow told her as she walked around her best friend to see long nail gouges in her back. "You two have been together for six months now and I've seen his enthusiasm before, but not like this."

Buffy took the dress from Willow and put it on. "I know," she sighed. "But it's not like it happens when we're not having sex. If that was the case, I'd be really worried. What does have me worried is that he's been acting strange in other ways."

"How?"

"He gets really quiet and stares off into space," she answered. "Then he'll suddenly take off or we'll maul each other. And one night, I wore his duster to his place and he pretty much took it back. He also hasn't talked like he does in close to a month and a half, ever since we got out of that house. You know, how he starts on one thing and then goes on and on as he skips topics."

"You said that he's been acting like this since that game?" Willow asked. Buffy nodded. "Maybe something happened then that upset him."

"But what?" Buffy said. "He was fine that night and the next one..." She trailed off as she thought. "But the day we got that tape, I didn't see him at all. In fact, I didn't see him for days after that."

Willow was blushing and avoiding looking at Buffy at the mention of the tape. "So, um, now you know the day he got weird."

"Yeah, but why?" Buffy asked, staring at herself in the mirror. "Maybe Angel would know."

"Angel?" Willow squeaked. She had tried to avoid the dark-haired vampire ever since their 'talk' over a month and a half ago. He had stayed away from her, as well, although she had caught a few smoldering glances sent her way across the Bronze at times. "But I thought Spike a-and Angel didn't like each other."

"They don't, but they have that childe-sire thing going and sometimes I've seen them talking," Buffy replied. She shrugged and added, "It wouldn't hurt to ask."

There was a knock on the bedroom door. "Buffy, something just came for you," Joyce said on the other side.

Buffy made sure her bites and bruises were covered, then opened the door. "Was it from Ed?"

"Don't I wish," Joyce replied with a wry smile. She handed her daughter an invitation size envelope. "That's a nice dress, sweety. But isn't it a little warm?"

Buffy smoothed the long sleeves and high collar down. "Nah, I'm fine."

"Ok," she said, shaking her head. "There's fresh sun tea. Help yourselves."

"Thanks Mom," Buffy answered and closed the door. She looked at the plain, creme object in her hand. "Why do I get the feeling I'm not going to do the dance of joy when I open this?"

Willow shrugged as the Slayer slid her finger under the flap and opened the envelope. She pulled out a stiff, designer invitation and groaned as she scanned it. "What does it say?" Willow asked.

"'Slayer, your presence is requested, along with the Vampire and six teammates, at the Endgame,'" Buffy read. "'Attendance in full is mandatory, or your lives will be forfeited. More instruction will be given on location.' Then it gives an address, date and time. Oh look, how convenient. A little map, too."

"The Fehu strike again," Willow said, taking the invitation from the Slayer. "This is this Friday. As in tomorrow night."

"And it looks like six other people get to join me and Spike. Fun," Buffy said sarcastically.

"We'd better go see Giles," the redhead told her, picking up her bag. Buffy grabbed her purse and followed Willow out the door.

Spike pressed his hands to his eyes, trying to stop the images in his head. "Will you leave me alone!" he yelled into the empty apartment.

In his mind, Drusilla laughed coyly at him.

A swollen sun melting in the horizon

Between the sheets where I wait for her to come

A living flame, impossible to resist

Burning me deep with every bite, kiss and lick

I'm haunted

I'm haunted

I'm haunted by her

With a growl, he spun, picked up the nearest object and hurled it at the wall. The lamp shattered upon impact, the cord still plugged into the wall, making it send sparks of electricity into the air. Unsatisfied, he threw a framed picture next, followed by the night stand itself. The wood splintered, a giant hole forming in the wall where it hit. Blankets and pillows flew off the bed, the mattress ripping under his clawed attack.

Invades my sleep with tumescent intentions

Hades I'm sure must be missing a demon

I hate the morning

I hate the morning

Storming out of the bedroom, his wild eyes flit around the room for more things to destroy. Magazines, books, videos, and CDs all flew through the room, landing in tattered heaps on the floor. The coffee table was upended, the legs smashed off to become parodies of wooden bats as Spike swung at the knick-knacks on the shelves. Nothing was spared from the vampire's violence. And still, none of the violence silenced the siren's voice in his mind.

From the panes a green mist swirls

Is it a shadow or reflection?

This apparition in moon beams bathed

A voice like wind through the trees beckons

Into the kitchen he went, opening cabinets and smashing the dishes within on the floor. Not a single thing remained in its proper place under his tirade. With each slam of a plate or glass, he yelled at the vampiress in his head. "You didn't want me! YOU left me first! I even bloody tortured you and you only laughed! I love the Slayer, so you just SHUT THE FUCK UP AND LEAVE ME ALONE!!"

A sea of glass coated the ground, but the vampire didn't care as he stormed back out of the room, the shards embedding deeply in his bare feet, cutting him.

Cool rain on hot summer stone

The odor fills my presence

Of freshly dug grave and death and night

These things are her essence

Trailing bloody footprints across the carpet and over objects in his way, Spike returned to the bedroom and threw himself on the ripped bed. His world was spinning out of control, his body aching to either hurt and destroy or be held and comforted. Rage and hyperactivity hummed under his skin, making him almost shake as he tried to gain control.

Nocturnal mistress, spirit lover

Your mouth of wine and woodsmoke taste

My goddess of the violet twilight

You are lust incarnate

Spike grabbed the phone off the second, still untouched night stand. He punched the familiar numbers, his hand tight around the receiver as he waited for an answer.

"Hello?"

"It's Spike. I need the Slayer," he told Joyce, the phrasing of his request dead accurate.

"I'm sorry, Spike," Joyce said over the line. "She just left with Willow. Do you want to leave her a message?"

His precarious hold over his sanity, which had been slowly chipped away over the past month and a half, was lost with this news and Drusilla smiled victoriously in his mind. The one person who could calm him with a touch of her hand wasn't there for him. "Tell her I'm sorry," he replied, then hung up the phone.

In the sweat of my bed

The eastern sky hints of dawning

Alone and awake but exhausted I lie

Oh how I hate the morning

He stood and grabbed his duster off the chair. Sliding it on over his T-shirt and jeans, he headed for the front door of the townhome. He threw the door open and stood on the threshold, looking out into the early day.

I hate the morning

I hate the morning

Two perfect, bloody footprints glared mockingly at the sky as the door swung closed.

"So, what do you think?" Buffy asked, looking up at her Watcher. "Should we go or not?"

"If their record wasn't accurate as to their ability to-to, er, kidnap you and Spike, I would say no," Giles began. "But I suspect we should take the-the threat to our lives very seriously."

"That's what I thought, too," she said, pushing up her sleeves on the red dress because of the heat from the hot August weather. "Willow, are you getting anything about this 'Endgame'?"

"Nothing," Willow replied, her fingers flying over the keyboard. "Just the date and time it takes place and the betting information. Oh neat. You can bet on you, Spike or any one of the team you choose; or as a whole."

"How thrilling," Buffy said sarcastically. She turned her attention back to Giles. "What's the plan, Giles?"

"First, the, er, six teammates should be chosen and informed as soon as possible," Giles answered. He set down the invitation and removed his glasses to pinch the bridge of his nose. "Then, I suspect we should explain what happened during the other games and um, pack our weapons."

"Well, Spike and me are already going. Angel will probably go with no problem and so would Faith," Buffy said. "That's two."

"I'm going," Willow stated. "And I know Xander would want to go."

"Make that four."

"Five," Giles said. "I am going, as well."

"Ok, five then," Buffy confirmed. "Now, we need one more. But who?"

*****

"Forget it," Cordelia said, trying to close the door in Buffy's face later that afternoon.

"I wouldn't bother you if we didn't need your help," Buffy said sticking her foot against the door.

"What's in it for me?" Cordelia asked. "Death, injury, messed-up hair and ruined clothes? No, thank you."

"Cordelia, if we don't get a sixth person on the team, the Fehu will kill everyone who knows about me -- and that includes you," Buffy lied. It could be true, but she wasn't going to get into probabilities.

"Why don't you ask Oz?"

"Full moon. Amy is out of town and my mom will be gone, too," she informed the former cheerleader. "I hate to say this, but you're our only hope."

Cordelia studied the Slayer for a minute, then threw up her hands. "Fine. But you owe me big. What do I need to do?"

"We're meeting at the library at eight," Buffy answered, moving her foot. "We'll explain everything then."

"I'll be there. But if I so much as get one chipped nail, you are in a world of hurt," Cordelia told her, then closed the door in her face.

"Angel?" Willow called as she entered the mansion at the same time Buffy was talking to Cordelia. She really didn't want to be the one to contact the vampire, but Giles needed to get Faith, who was in LA for the week. Xander was easily informed with a quick phone call and he was thrilled to be a part of the action.

"Willow," Angel said, coming out of the bedroom. "Is there something wrong?"

**I'm not in your arms,** Willow thought. Instead, she stammered, "N-No. Well, yes but not in a life or death sort of way. Actually, it is life or death if you say no. Or we don't get six people. I wonder if Buffy convinced Cordelia? That would not be good if she can't."

"Willow," Angel interrupted, putting his hands on her shoulders. He immediately removed them as the attraction flared up between them. "Why are you here?"

"Oh, heh-heh," she replied, nervously clenching her hands together. "Buffy got an invitation to the next game and it says she has to have six teammates. So far, it's me, Giles, Faith and Xander. Buffy's trying to get Cordelia and I came to ask you."

"Of course I'll do it," he told her.

"Oh good," she sighed in relief. "We're meeting at the library at eight to go over the different games so far and make some plans." Her eyes widened as she realized what she'd just said. "Oh goddess, we're going over the games. Including the house. The house where we...we did things that they don't need to know about. Not even Buffy knows. Unless you told her. You didn't tell her, did you?"

"No, I didn't tell her," Angel replied, walking away from the temptation to pull her in his arms. "Only Spike knows."

"You told Spike?!"

"No, he could...smell us," he said.

Willow reddened. "Oh. You don't think he told Buffy, do you?"

"No. I told him not to, and despite his being a jerk, he still listens to me at times," Angel told her. "Although lately, I'm surprised he hasn't gotten himself killed for the things he does say when I've found him out and about."

"Buffy said he's been acting all weird," Willow confided. "She's also got lots of bites and scratches."

"That's normal with vampires," he said, slightly embarrassed.

"I know, but not to this extent," she replied. "She looks like she was wrapped in barbed wire then thrown into a cobra pit." Angel looked at her in surprise and shock. "I was hoping you'd talk to Spike and find out what's wrong. She says he's been like this since we had our...since the day we...since you told me that you were leaving."

Angel thought back to that day and tried to remember how Spike was acting, but most of his memories revolved around the petite redhead in front of him. "I'll talk to him tonight."

"Thanks," Willow said. "I'd, uh, better go. I'm trying to find out more over the 'Net about this new game." She smiled nervously at him, then turned and left.

"No answer," Buffy said as she hung up the phone back at the library. "He's probably still asleep."

"At six in the evening?" Willow asked skeptically. "Didn't you tell me he barely sleeps at all?"

"True, but Spike sometimes does get to sleep late in the afternoon and then won't get up until the sun sets," she replied. "I'll wait until closer to seven and try again."

"Never fear, Xander is here," Xander announced as he pushed through the library doors, boxes in hand. "And I come bearing gifts of fruit and wine."

"It looks like pizza, Xander," Buffy said.

"Ah yes, but it has pineapple on it," the dark-haired teen replied, setting the boxes down. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, paper bag and held it aloft. "And I got grapes."

Giles walked by and took the bag of grapes without breaking his gaze from the book he was reading. "You're welcome, your tweedness," Xander said after him.

"What?" Giles asked, raising his head. "Oh yes. Thank you, Xander."

"Faith! Pizza's here!" Buffy yelled up towards the stacks. They heard a thump, then the brunette Slayer appeared.

"Hey, Xand-man," Faith greeted, hopping over the railing to land next to the table. "'Za me."

The group of friends had ironed out any differences with the second Slayer that had occurred in the past and, although she tended to be a loner, the four got along well. She was still uncomfortable around Angel and Spike, as was Giles, but was fine with them as long as they didn't try to munch on her.

"Here you go, Wills," Buffy passed the redhead a piece of pizza over the counter.

"Thanks," Willow replied, not looking away from the computer much the same as Giles hadn't looked away from his book. "Hey, this address is for the old gaming complex outside of Chesterton."

"Gaming complex?" Xander said. "That place where they use to hold indoor laser tag and had all those video games?"

"And billiards and ski-ball and foosball and mini-golf," Willow confirmed. She took a bite of her pizza and chewed while she thought. "There's a blueprint for it."

"Let's see," Giles said, walking around through the office to come up behind her. "There don't seem to be many windows."

"That's probably why they picked the place," Buffy said around her bite of food. "Whatever this 'Endgame' is will probably take a while to complete, and they don't want the vampires or other sun- allergic creatures to poof on them."

"Endgame is a chess term," Xander said. Faith and Buffy looked at him with matching skeptical expressions. "It means the final moves of the game, when each player tries to complete his plans to checkmate."

"Since when do you know anything so geeky?" Buffy asked. Xander shrugged, stuffing his mouth full of pizza instead of answering. "Gross much?"

"When's the Queen of Bitchiness getting here again?" Faith said. She chuckled when Xander started to choke. "What's the matter, Xand?"

"Cordelia is coming?" Xander gasped around his food.

Buffy nodded. "She's our sixth."

"Excuse me, I'm going to save the Fehu the trouble and kill myself now," he informed them, then headed out of the library.

"Think I should go after him?" Faith asked Buffy. "Rub it in a little?"

"Nah," Buffy replied. "We'll wait until he gets back to rub it in."

"Hey, guys, be nice to Xander about Cordelia," Willow scolded.

"Why?" both Slayers said simultaneously, then burst into laughter.

"Buffy."

The girls turned to see Angel standing in the stacks. "Angel, what are you doing here?" Buffy said, glancing at the window. "How are you here?"

"Overcast," Angel replied, his gaze going to the redhead over at the computer, then quickly back at the blond Slayer. "I need to talk to you."

"Ok," she said, heading over to the stairs to join him in the stacks. "What's so important that would drag you over here during the day?"

"Willow told me about what Spike has been doing to you," he told her, his expression serious.

"Oh, I'm going to murder her..."

"Buffy, stop. She's just worried about you," Angel said. "I decided to take advantage of the bad weather and get to the tunnels to go pay him a visit to see what was wrong."

"What did he say?" Buffy asked when he paused.

"He wasn't there. The townhome was trashed and I found dried, bloody footprints all over the place," he said quietly. "There were two perfect ones on the threshold, facing outside. Then there was a partial one on the step, then nothing."

Buffy's heart dropped to her feet and she couldn't breathe. "No," she barely said, staring at him with wide eyes as she realized what he was inferring. "No, that's not true. He's fine. He's just asleep, like all good vampires should be."

"Buffy-"

"NO!" Buffy yelled, running out of the stacks and over to the phone. She picked up the receiver and punched the numbers with a hard finger.

Willow came around through the office and walked over to Angel, who had come down the steps. "What did you say to her?"

"I think Spike may have..." Angel trailed off as Buffy banged her hand on the counter and began screaming into the receiver.

"PICK UP THE PHONE! PICK UP! PICK UP! PICK UP!"

"Oh goddess," Willow breathed as she caught what Angel was saying.

Angel moved behind Buffy and wrapped his arms around her, pinning hers to her side as she continued to scream. Giles took the receiver from her hand and hung up the phone, exchanging a concerned look with the vampire. Xander came running into the library and stopped suddenly as he halfway collided with Faith.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"We're going over to Blondie's," Faith said, grabbing his arm and pulling him back out the door. "And hope to hell that we don't find him DOA."

"DOA?"

"Dust on arrival."

Giles phoned Joyce while Angel and Willow tried to calm the hysterical Slayer. He had to shut both office doors and cover one ear to hear her. "Joyce? It's Rupert."

"Rupert, what is all that noise in the background?" Joyce asked over the line.

"It's Buffy," he told her. "She's a tad hysterical."

"What's wrong?" Joyce said quickly.

"It would seem that A-Angel went over to speak to Spike and he was not there," he answered.

"Not there? But Spike called earlier this morning," she said.

"He did?" Giles jumped on the reply. "What did he say? It is imperative that you remember his exact words."

"He said he needed Buffy and I told him she had left and asked if he wanted to leave a message," Joyce told him. "Then he said to tell her he was sorry and hung up."

"Oh dear lord," he gasped. He heard a loud crash outside and quickly stood, throwing open the office door. Willow was helping Angel up from a pile of broken chairs and Buffy was nowhere to be seen or heard.

"Rupert, what is going on?" Joyce said exasperated.

"I am afraid there might have been an accident," Giles replied, his voice abnormally loud in the silence following Buffy's screams. "Or a suicide."

"This doesn't look good," Xander commented as he surveyed the trashed townhome with Faith.

"Do you know how big Spike's feet are?" Faith asked as she squatted down in front of the dried blood in the doorway.

"I can go find a shoe," he said, going further into the apartment to the bedroom. He whistled when he saw the ripped mattress and the rest of the mess. He spotted a pair of shoes under a surprisingly upright chair and grabbed one, then returned to Faith. "Here."

"Thanks," she replied, taking it from him and measuring it against the print. "It's a match."

"I think all these broken dishes in here might be why all the blood," Xander commented from over by the kitchen. "Plus, this is where the footprints start. It looks like he went into the bedroom, then came back and went right out the door."

"Into the day," Faith said morosely, looking around the front step and the walkway. "But I don't see any dust piles."

"They could have washed away with the rain," he suggested. "Or blown away. There has been crappy weather most of the day."

"Say that again," she told him.

"What? Crappy weather?"

"Yeah," Faith said, standing. "Have you seen the sun at all today?"

"Only a little this morning," Xander answered. The proverbial light bulb went on above his head. "Maybe he tried to off himself but the sun didn't cooperate."

"That's what I'm thinking," she replied, squinting out into the fading day. "But where would he go?"

"Is there a tunnel or sewer entrance around here?" he asked.

"You go left, I'll go to your other left," Faith told him.

"SPIKE!" Buffy yelled as she ran up the walkway to the open townhome, Faith on her heels. "SPIKE!"

"B, he's not there!" Faith tried to tell her, but she wouldn't listen.

Buffy ran into the townhome, her eyes wild. She flew towards the single bedroom and began throwing things off the floor, looking for him. "SPIKE! WHERE ARE YOU, YOU STUPID VAMPIRE?!"

"Buffy!" Faith put the other girl in an arm lock, with her arms under Buffy's and her hands locked behind the blond's head. "He's. Not. Here."

"Nooooooo," Buffy wailed, arms flailing. "Let me go."

"No, B. Not until you calm down," she said. Xander appeared and walked to the front of Buffy and slapped her.

"Buffy, stop," Xander commanded, his voice harsh. Buffy stopped wailing and stared at him, tears streaming down her face. "I think he's fine. I found another footprint outside of a sewer entrance about half a block from here. If you calm down, we'll call the library and get some flashlights and go look for him. Ok?"

Buffy nodded and Faith released her. The blonde fell to the floor, pulling the blankets to her and holding them close. She inhaled deeply, taking in Spike's familiar scent and let herself cry. Xander motioned for Faith to follow him and they both left the bedroom.

"I'll call Giles, you keep a guard on her until we can all go together," he told her.

"I hope that bastard's still alive or undead or whatever the hell he is," Faith said. "So I can stake him myself."

Joyce volunteered to stay at the library and relay messages between the groups as they split up to search the sewers for the peroxide-blond vampire. Xander went with Giles, Angel went with Willow and the two Slayers went together, each pair going in a different direction through the many offshoots that ran under Sunnydale.

"Alright, I'm here," Cordelia said, entering the library. She frowned when she didn't see anyone. "Hello?"

"Cordelia, hi," Joyce said quietly as she came out of the office.

"Where's Giles?" she asked. "And the rest of the MOD Squad?"

"They're looking for Spike," Joyce replied.

"Eew, why would they want to find that bleached bloodsucker?" Cordelia said.

"He's Buffy's boyfriend," she answered.

"But I thought Angel was...you know what? I don't want to know," the former cheerleader said. "I came for this meeting, interrupting my summer rerun schedule, and no one is here."

"I don't think they will be holding it tonight," Joyce said. "I'll tell Ru-Mr. Giles to call you tomorrow, is that alright?"

"Yeah, fine," she said. "But if this happens again, I am not helping Buffy even if it is the end of the world...again." With that, the brunette left the library.

Under the town, three groups of searchers were having no luck. As the hours passed, and the night came closer to dawn, spirits were low. Each of the teams ran into several vampires and other sewer creatures that they easily dispatched because of the element of surprise. But the one vampire they wanted to find was still AWOL.

"Angel, what if we don't find him?" Willow voiced her concerns for the first time since they split off from the others. "Buffy loves him as much as she loved you, maybe more. Oh, I shouldn't have said that."

"It's ok, Willow," Angel said, sloshing through the water at her side. "Buffy and I just weren't meant to be. Our relationship was too filled with secrets and tension. And you know we didn't talk much."

"Yeah. You were Mr. Cryptic-Brooding-Guy," she replied with a smile for him. "Now you're Mr. Not-So-Cryptic-Brooding-Guy."

"Funny," he scoffed.

"I know," she said. "I should give up my aspirations of becoming a teacher or computer wunderkind and become a comedian."

"As Doug would say: 'Don't quit your day job.'"

"You've seen The Cutting Edge?" Willow said, dumbfounded. "Since when do you have a VCR?" "Since some redhead mocked me for not having seen The Princess Bride," Angel replied. "I haven't been mocked in centuries."

"Well, there's a first for everything," she told him. Angel gave her a seldom-seen smile and they continued on for a few minutes in comfortable silence. The hacker was the first to hear something, which she brought to her companion's attention.

"I hear it," Angel said quietly. He gave her the flashlight and pulled out a stake. The two sloshed as quietly as possible towards the noise. As they got closer, they began to hear a repetitious sound with muffled words in between.

"You... ...Stupid... ...Bloody... ...Bitch... ...I... ...Hate... ...You... ...Stupid... ...Bloody... ...Bitch... ...I... ...Hate... ...You... ...Stupid... ...Bloody... ...Bitch... ...I... ...Hate... ...You... ...Stupid... ...Bloody... ...Bitch...."

Angel was first to round the corner and he froze, causing Willow to bump into him. But she didn't make a noise as she stared at the blond vampire. He didn't seem to notice the flashlight shining directly on him, he just continued to punch at a hole in the brick wall, repeating the same sentence over and over.

" ...Hate... ...You... ...Stupid... ...Bloody... ...Bitch... ...I... ...Hate... ...You... ...Stupid... ...Bloody... ...Bitch... ...I... ...Hate... ...You... ...Stupid...."

Willow must have made a noise, because Angel moved into action. He quickly got behind Spike and wrapped both arms around him, pulling him away from the wall. The hacker hurried over with the light as the blond vampire snarled and struggled against his sire. "Willow, grab his left arm," Angel told her through clenched teeth.

She rounded the two vampires and stuck the flashlight in her front overall pocket and latched onto Spike's arm with both hands. The light shined up into her face, casting a scary glow over her features as her green eyes widened. "Oh goddess, Angel, his hand."

Angel moved so rapidly, it was if he hadn't moved at all. He let go of Spike with one arm and plucked the heavy Mag light out of Willow's pocket, then bashed the blond in the back of the skull, rendering him unconscious. Spike slumped down into the water, almost pulling Willow with him. "I got him," the dark-haired vampire told her as he stuck the light back in her pocket.

Willow let go only to retrieve the light and shine it down on Spike's hand. Clenched into a fist that resembled a piece of hamburger was a fragment of brick. It was worn on the sides from repeated scraping as he had withdrawn his hand each time he punched the sewer wall.

"What time is it?" Angel asked as he hoisted the unconscious vampire over his shoulder.

"Almost five," she answered.

"We need to get above ground and to the mansion," he told her as they rapidly backtracked to the access hatch they recently passed. "Call Joyce and tell her to get driving. Run ahead and as soon as you hit the surface, tell her where we are."

"Right," she replied, running through the water with loud splashes. She pulled out the cell phone and hit the redial button, the phone already being on and twice used. "Mrs. Summers? It's Willow. Call me back on your cell phone. We found Spike and need to get him and Angel to the mansion before dawn."

"How is he?" Buffy immediately pounced on Angel as soon as he exited the bedroom. "Can I see him? I want to see him."

The others in the mansion's main room looked exhausted and disheveled from trekking through the sewers for hours. Yet, each of them held a look of concern for the comatose, blond vampire in the other room.

"Go ahead, Buffy," Angel told her. "But don't try to wake him up." He said the last part to thin air because the Slayer had already dashed into the room.

"How is he?" Willow repeated the question with quiet consternation. She was the only one besides Angel to see how Spike had been acting, and to see his hand as well. Angel had wrapped his hand while they waited for Joyce in a storefront doorway.

"Not good," Angel replied, giving each of his guests a serious look. "When Willow and I found him, he was repeatedly hitting the sewer wall and by the look of his hand and the size of the hole, I'd say he'd been doing it for eight to ten hours." He moved over to the couch next to the hacker and sat down heavily, rubbing a weary and worried hand over his features. "He was also saying one looped sentence: 'You stupid bloody bitch, I hate you.'"

"Do you know who he was referring to?" Giles asked.

Angel shook his head. "No. But he came to briefly while I was getting him into bed and I had to knock him over the head again because of his violent actions."

"Spike?" Buffy said, sitting next to the bed and brushing his cheek with her hand. Tears were falling slowly down her face. "What happened, Spike? Why did you scare me like that? Why won't you tell me what's wrong?"

She studied his peaceful features, her heart pounding a steady, worried staccato in her chest. Her hand moved down to clasp his right, unbandaged one lying on his stomach. "Did I do something? Is that it? I can fix it. You just have to tell me what it is," she said. Her other hand came up to muffle her choked sob. "Oh, Spike, I love you so much. Please tell me what's wrong."

She began to cry heavily, her head now on the bed over the hand she held. She didn't understand what was happening to the vampire she loved. She didn't understand his strange behavior over the past month and a half; his violence and short-temperedness; the way he'd just leave her company suddenly; his restlessness, as if something was under his skin making him more hyper than normal.

"Buffy," Angel said quietly, putting his hand on her shoulder. "You need to go now."

"No," Buffy replied, sitting up and scrubbing the tears from her face. "I'm not going anywhere."

"You have to," Angel said. "I don't know how he's going to act when he wakes up again and I think the less distractions, the better. Plus, you have to rest up for the game tonight."

"I'm not going anywhere, Angel," she stated. Angel nodded and she thought she'd won, only to suddenly feel something sharp in her arm. She turned her head and saw Willow standing there looking guiltily, then down to see a feathered dart sticking her. "No...," Buffy trailed off as she slumped in the chair, the tranquilizer knocking her out. Angel picked her up and carried her into the other room, passing her to Faith. "What time again tonight?"

"We'll pick you a-a-and Spike up at seven thirty," Giles informed him. "That should give you both enough time to, er, eat."

Angel nodded. "Hopefully, Spike will be ok by then. If not..." He let the sentence trail off.

"Call if you need anything," Joyce said as Faith, Xander and Giles headed for the door. "I won't be leaving until four."

"Thank you, Joyce," he replied. She gave him a slight smile, then went out the door, as well.

"Angel, tell me the truth," Willow started from her place near the doorway. "Do you think he'll be ok?"

"I don't know," Angel told her. "I really don't know." She nodded and silently left.

With a sigh, he went into the bedroom and studied Spike for a moment, then he took the chair that Buffy had abandoned and settled down for a long day.

Spike opened his eyes, not quite sure of where he was; he only knew that he couldn't feel his left hand and the bottom of his feet hurt. He looked left, then right, trying to ascertain where he was and why things seemed familiar. **I'm in Sao Paolo,** he thought as he recognized the bedroom that had been his in the house he had taken over with his minions. **What the bloody hell am I doing back here?**

He hadn't even thought about Brazil since he'd returned to Sunnydale to be with the Slayer. He remembered the night he'd just up and left, surprising his minions. He bet that they were relieved, however, with his departure, considering he terrorized them so badly they'd hide until he'd go out for the night. And while he was out, he'd frighten the locals with his restlessness and hyper behavior. He'd been kicked out of many clubs during the month he'd been away from the Slayer.

The Slayer. How he loved that little powerhouse. She made him feel calmer just by holding his hand, like she was his grounding wire. He didn't know why that was, but he really didn't care. All he cared about was her, the hunt and blood. If he ever got the chance, he'd love to mix the three together. It would make for a very interesting night, and a pleasurable one at that. He felt himself growing hard and his mind wandered back to the fact that he was in Brazil, not Sunnydale where his Slayer was located. **Time to focus, mate,** he scolded himself.

He took a step forward and paused when small, stabbing pains shot through his foot. He looked down and saw that he was barefoot, but that wasn't the odd part. What looked like thin, silver wires were attached to the tops of his feet. He saw two more attached to the tops of his hands and a third that hung in front of his body. When he lifted his left hand to tug on the wire in front of him, the skin and muscle melted together until his hand resembled ground beef with the whites of his bones popping through.

Curious, he tried to move his fingers and found that he couldn't, although he could move his wrist. He couldn't feel any pain radiating from it, in fact he couldn't feel his hand at all. It was as if it simply wasn't there. He frowned and let the appendage drop, using his right hand to tug at the wire in front of him instead. When he did this, his head jerked with the movement, making him realize that the fifth wire was coming from the top of his skull. **Is this somebody's idea of a sick joke?** he thought with a growl.

Looking at the floor, he saw that the wires all ran out of the bedroom. He followed them from the bedroom and down the hallway. He expected the slack to be dragging behind him as he went forward, but instead the wires stayed in front of him, as if someone were pulling on the other end as he moved. With that thought, he stopped suddenly to see what would happen.

Spike was almost jerked off his feet as the wires became taut. He tried to not go forward, but his heels skid on the floor as whomever was at the other end pulled him. His chin was on his chest, his arms out in front of him as the wires were pulled. Deciding he'd rather not fall flat on his face, he began walking again towards the source and was relieved to note that the tension slackened. However, the tension in his body caused by anger thrummed under his skin.

He heard her devilish laughter before he saw her. That sound was still music to his ears after all this time and he felt himself drawn to it. As he came into the main living area of the house, the room fluxed and changed, turning into an open, stone throne room with his Princess sitting on an ornate, gold throne.

Her dress was made of deep red velvet, molding to her body and setting a beautiful contrast against her pale, creamy skin. Her dark hair hung in tendrils around her face, her large eyes watching him with a naughty gleam. Her lips held a hint of the evil smile that he loved to see, because that meant her mind was conjuring up delightfully wicked things.

He kept walking towards her until he stood at the bottom of the two red, carpeted steps that led up to her. She tilted her head slightly, giving him a coy look. It was then he noticed that in her hand she held what looked to him like a cross with the silver wires that were attached to him leading right to it. She glanced down at what he was looking at, then returned her gaze to his, her lips curling up even more.

With one quick movement of her hand, he was yanked forward by the silver wires onto his hands and knees on the steps, his head bowed because of the tautness of the wire. Her delighted, wicked laughter filled the room, echoing off the stone walls. When it faded, he felt a cool finger under his chin, a sharp nail tracing lightly along his skin.

"Spike," Drusilla said, her voice hauntingly beautiful to him. Her hand moved away and he felt the wires relax. "Look at me, luv."

He raised his head to see her laying before him in a black corset and stockings, the throne room and steps having faded into a bedroom. She crooked her finger in a beckoning gesture, her tongue darting out to run over her lower lip. He felt himself crawling forward over her, as if he had no control over his actions. Her eyes held a malicious gleam as she pulled him flush against her body, her mouth capturing his.

Spike closed his eyes as her cool lips and tongue danced with his, and memories washed over him like a tidal wave. He grew hard in response to her expert teasing and he felt himself drowning in the sensations. She hadn't been this amorous in so very long, not since before she was injured in Prague. And when she had gotten well, his sire had returned and taken her from him and, no matter what he did, he couldn't get her back. Not even teaming up with the Slayer or later torturing her had....

He broke away from Drusilla, his eyes going wild as he realized what was going on. She began to laugh again; this time the sound was full of evil as she pulled him closer again, her fangs grazing his neck.

"No!" Spike yelled, trying to shove himself away from her. He fell off the bed and onto the stone floor, the vampiress watching him with mad eyes. He scrambled to his feet and tried to leave the room, but he was prevented by the silver wires that ran to the controller in her hand. She waved her fingers tauntingly at him.

"Leave me alone!" he spat at her, grabbing the wire attached to his head with his right hand and pulling with all his strength. The only thing that did was cause excruciating pain to tear at his skull. He felt rage bubble under his skin at being held like a hapless puppet under her control. But he wasn't going to let her get to him. He'd die before he would give in to her.

Angel was startled as Spike sat bolt upright and growled, his face changing to that of his demon. He went to restrain the younger vampire, but was unprepared for him to scramble out of the bed and head out the door of the bedroom with his hands holding his head.

"Leave me alone!" Spike yelled as images flitted through his mind. Memories of his times with Drusilla came to the foreground in rapid succession, like a movie on high speed. Then she was there again, laughing at him, pulling him, calling to him. "LEAVE ME ALONE!"

Angel was halfway out of the bedroom when he saw Spike charging headlong for the semi-boarded entry that led outside. With a burst of speed, he tackled his childe. Both of them skidded across the hard floor, stopping barely a centimeter before the wide patch of sunlight. He flipped Spike over and pinned the vampire to the floor, covering him with his body. "Spike, snap out of it!"

Spike struggled against him, growling until Angel slipped into game face and growled back in a sire's warning tone. The peroxide blonde's yellow eyes flashed in defiance, a snarl issuing from him. A low rumble echoed across the mansion from Angel in response, deep and full of the power that was kept in careful check around humans.

Spike stopped as suddenly as he started, his face taking on its handsome features once more. His ice blue eyes stared up into Angel's still gold ones with recognition, fear and submission. His sire nodded and let his own human mask drop into place as he became more aware of his surroundings. He was on the floor, in the mansion, in Sunnydale. Not in Brazil. Not with Drusilla.

Angel got to his feet and helped Spike up, then led him back towards the bedroom. Once there, he put his childe back into bed and stripped down to his boxers, then climbed in next to him. Forcing him on his side, Angel wrapped his arm around the younger vampire's body and held him close in the dominant position, his body spooning Spike's. "Tell me," he instructed, his tone offering no argument.

"She's in my head," Spike said, his voice barely above a whisper. "I can't get her out of my bloody head. She keeps calling to me, wanting me to go back to her, wanting me to love her again." Unknowingly, he clasped Angel's hand, holding his sire tighter to him in a protection-seeking manner. "It keeps getting worse. I feel like I'm a fucking marionette. Cor, Angelus, I was happy. Why can't she just let me be happy? She's the one who didn't want me, threw me away like yesterday's rubbish."

He felt exhaustion creep over him as he continued, the past month and a half of little sleep and high anxiety mixed in with his normal hyperactivity catching up to him. "I love the Slayer. What Dru and I had is over. Why does she want me now? Why can't she let me alone?"

Angel closed his eyes as Spike fell silent, forcing away his pain at the thought of Buffy being hurt, which would probably happen because Spike would either go insane from Drusilla's manipulations or kill himself. He could go down to Brazil and try to destroy Drusilla, but with the coming game it was impossible, and afterwards, it might be too late. The only thing he could do was try to protect his childe as best he could and pray to a God who didn't listen to creatures like him that everything would work out.

He felt Spike slip into sleep and he allowed himself one final thought before following, "I hope you're strong, Buffy, because it's going to be one horrible ride."

*****

Buffy was still debating whether or not to kill Willow or thank her for knocking her out as she entered the mansion. On one hand, there was Spike. On the other, there was the game that night that she needed to be ready for. Maybe she would thank her best friend by not killing her.

She had said goodbye to her mother a short while ago and promised to be careful and stay alive; then, after dressing in easy-to-slay clothes and packing several weapons, she called Giles and told him to pick her up at the mansion with the guys. She had wanted to spend as much time with Spike as possible before her attention ended up being divided between the next game and her friends, as well as him.

Dropping the weapons bag on the couch, she made her way to Angel's bedroom. And came to a dead stop in the doorway.

For there, lying together in bed, were both Angel and Spike.

Buffy knew from the memories Spike had shared that he'd had a physical relationship with Angelus. She also knew that what she saw in front of her came nowhere close to the mental pictures she'd painted of that dominant/submissive relationship. If they weren't both male and very much adults, the scene before her would have reminded her of a mother comforting her child.

Then she realized that was exactly what Angel was doing; his soul gave him the ability to use his role as sire to comfort and protect Spike, rather than to be cruel, or to dominate and punish him. She felt a wellspring of tenderness for Angel bubble inside her and a small smile crossed her lips. For him to be doing something like that meant he truly cared for the blond vampire.

Silently, she entered and sat in the chair still next to the bed. The late afternoon sun that filtered into the main room of the mansion barely penetrated the bedroom, but enough light was cast so she could see her love's face clearly. Tears started to roll down her cheeks as she reached a hand out to brush against his brow.

Someone take these dreams away

That pull me to another day

A duel personality

No stranger to reality

They keep calling me

They keep calling me

Keep on calling me

They keep calling me

Spike slowly opened his eyes, afraid of what he might find. He was becoming confused as to what was real and what were Drusilla's warped mind games. The dreams over the past month and a half kept getting more and more vivid, leading him to lash out with his fists and his words and his hard mating with the Slayer. And as time progressed, Drusilla invaded his waking thoughts, twisting them, using them to bring him to the brink of insanity.

He didn't even know why she was doing it, either. He still loved her, had a special place in his heart for her, but she was the one who had wanted it to end. She was the one who had laughed at his attempts to win her back. She was the one who had left him first. And so he had let himself fall in love with the Slayer and now Drusilla wanted him back. But he didn't want to go back to his dark, wicked queen. He wanted to stay with the woman who brought sunshine into his unlife just by being there. His Slayer. Buffy. Who was sitting in front of him with a face full of love and worry as she stroked his brow. When he focused on her, her mouth curled up in the corners as her lower lip trembled. "Hi," she said quietly. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I went a round with you while you were PMSing," Spike replied, his voice hoarse. He became aware of the fact that he was curled up against someone and it took a moment to register that it was his sire. And that he was holding Angel's hand tightly against his bare stomach in a protective manner. Drusilla must have really gotten to him if he had allowed himself to be in this position.

Buffy watched as confusion, then understanding, crossed his features. She looked past him and saw that Angel had propped his head up on his other hand and was watching both her and Spike. She hadn't realized that he had woken up, as well.

"Buffy," Spike said in a low voice. She returned her gaze to his and saw a palpable need reflected in them. Without a word, she kicked her shoes off and climbed under the sheets. Facing him, she wrapped her left arm around his bare waist between the two men and placed the other under his head as she held him to her chest.

Spike released Angel's hand only to pull down on the v-collar of her tank top until one of her breasts was free; then, he re-linked his fingers over his sire's and brought their hands behind her back to hold her to him. His left arm lay uselessly between them as he began suckling her tit like a babe, quickly slicing the tender skin around her nipple so her blood flowed like a mother's milk.

Spike's actions brought both arousing and nurturing feelings to Buffy. She met Angel's eyes over the blond's head and saw that he understood what was happening right then as well as what was wrong with Spike. Spike pulled her closer and she felt his erection pressed up against her, her clothing the only thing separating them.

Spike pressed Angel's hand against her back, then let go to move to the waistband of Buffy's shorts. He tugged down on them and she raised up slightly so he could push them and her panties down past her knees. She brought her left leg up out of the loosed material and draped it over his hip He never stopped suckling her breast as he slowly pushed into her core until he was fully sheathed within her heat.

He brought his hand around her again to entwine with Angel's and pulled the vampire behind him even closer to him. With this action, he was sandwiched between them, protected by them from both the outside world and inside his mind.

The three of them stayed like that, unmoving, until the sun sank over the horizon, signaling the end of day.

"We only have little more than half an hour until we get picked up." Angel's voice seemed to echo, despite the quietness of his voice, when the silence was finally broken. He removed his hand from Spike's grasp and rolled out of the bed. "I'm going to take a shower," he told them as he gathered his clothing, then left the room.

Spike felt immediately bereft after his sire had left. He felt bare, exposed, unprotected without the older vampire behind him. He raised his head to look at Buffy and rolled onto his back, still deep inside of her. He went to pull the tank top over her head, but found that his left hand was bandaged up tightly, preventing him from doing so. He frowned at the offending appendage as she sat up and yanked the clothing up over her head.

Buffy caught his eyes again, then lowered herself down as she began to move her hips, capturing his mouth with her own. Soon, they were both caught up in the slow, ageless rhythm, their tongues entwined in a lover's dance, until they fell silently into orgasm.

Afterward, Spike held Buffy closely to him, listening to the steady beat of her heart and whispered, "I love you, Buffy. No matter what, remember that I love you."

The ride to the gaming complex in Chesterton was made in silence, save for the rhythmic bouncing of Spike's leg. Xander had driven Willow and Faith, and Cordelia had gone separately, leaving Giles to chauffeur the two vampires and Buffy. He had borrowed one of the school vans for the trip, covering most of the windows with black construction paper just in case.

"There don't seem to be any lights on," Willow commented as the group stood together in the parking lot.

"Well, Motel 6 it isn't," Xander replied.

"There are other cars here, though," Buffy pointed out. "Don't know if that's a good thing or not."

"I guess we'd better go inside," Angel said, studying the large, warehouse-like building. "Everyone armed?"

As quietly as a group of eight that included Cordelia could be, they made their way over to the front doors and went inside. The entryway was completely bare save for a free-standing sign that had one light over it. "Welcome players," Buffy read out loud. "Slayer team go right; opposing team go left. Enjoy your stay."

"How nice of them," Faith said sarcastically as she looked down the hallway to the right. "Do you think we'll get those little chocolates on our pillows, too?"

"Only one way to find out," Buffy said, leading the troops down the right hall.

The hall opened up to a room with a single refrigerator and multiple outlets in the walls. There were no windows in the room but four doors, two of which were marked as the men's and ladies' restrooms. The third door led to another hallway with multiple small rooms off of it, which the group deduced to be the old offices. The fourth door opened up to reveal the center of the gaming complex, which was well-lit and huge.

And covered with large, bi-colored squares, like a giant chess board.

"You don't see Death lurking around, do you?" Xander asked as he followed Buffy and Spike out into the main room.

As the commentary went on behind them, the Slayer and the Vampire approached what looked like a computerized, gaming console. Attached to the screen was the expected white envelope, and Buffy gave Spike a look before picking it up and opening it. "Guys, you need to listen here," she raised her voice to quiet the others. When she had their attention, she went on. "Angel and Willow already know what this letter means, but for the rest of you, it contains the basic instructions for the game and how to win."

She made sure everyone was listening, then unfolded the letter. "'Come crawling faster, obey your master,'" she read and looked over at Spike.

"Metallica," Spike replied to the unasked question. "Master of Puppets."

She nodded and continued, "'Obey your master, players, or death will be your consequences. The master controls the action, the winner is up to you. So, choose your king wisely, for your lives are in his hands.'"

"What does it mean?" Willow asked.

"I s-suspect it has something to do with, er, chess," Giles said. He gestured to the large board on the floor. "It said to choose your king and that-that computer thing is in the white king's square."

Xander walked in front of Buffy and looked at the monitor. "It's a computerized chess game," he told the others. He moved the mouse pointer on 'help' and clicked. "Hey, check it out, ladies and germs. 'This is a live action chess game, where the king controls the movement of the other chess 'pieces.' The board is recreated on the screen, allowing the king to see the entire field of play. Eight robotic pawns have been provided for you.'"

"Fascinating," Giles commented.

"'Rules of play: To capture an opposing piece, the challenger for the square makes the first strike. If the challenger defeats the opponent, he moves to that square. If the challenger loses, the opponent may chose to move to the challenger's square or stay in his own. There will be a five-minute break between each challenge to clean up the bodies,'" Xander read.

"Why am I thinking this is not a good thing?" Faith said, looking out over the empty chess board.

"'Each round of play will last four hours with a two-hour break in between,'" the dark-haired teen continued. "'Other game rules: no one is to leave the field of play except for file one or eight until the break and then you can only go to your team's respective rooms; attempting to cross the field of play during the break will result in forfeiture; no one can leave the building once the game starts; food and medical supplies are located in the refrigerators; the game starts precisely at midnight.'"

They all stood silently for a moment, contemplating what Xander read. Cordelia was the one to break the silence. "Does this mean I'm stuck with you guys until whenever the game is finished?"

"Yes, I am afraid so," Giles replied.

"Then I'm getting some things from my car," Cordelia said as she turned to go. "I'm going to need something to do that doesn't require talking to you guys."

"You know, the Bitch Queen has a point," Faith said. "Xand, key me. I'm gonna get my walkman and some tunes from your car."

"Will you get my backpack, too?" Willow asked the brunette Slayer.

"Will do, Red," Faith replied, then left as well.

"I suppose we should pick who will be king," Giles said, removing his glasses to clean them. "I know a bit about chess, but I haven't played since I was a boy."

"I can play," Xander said.

"I know the rules, but I never actually played before," Willow said. "What about you, Angel?"

"I said, I can play," Xander repeated.

"Chess was never my game," Angel replied. He looked over at Spike. "What about you?"

"Hello? Can you hear me talking here?" Xander said.

"Yeah, right," Spike replied to Angel. "It took me ten years to learn to play the piano, and that wasn't boring like chess is."

"You play the piano?" Willow asked, her mind turning. "It was you playing at the house! Angel, it was Spike! You were so good. We thought it was a recording."

Spike shrugged the compliment off, looking instead around the room. He suddenly stiffened and froze, his entire body tense. Angel saw this and quickly walked over to his side. "What is it?"

"I guess that you do not know how to-to play, either, Buffy," Giles said. Buffy arched a brow at him, her back to the two vampires. "I figured as much."

"What about Faith or Cordelia?" Willow suggested.

"She's here," Spike answered Angel, his right hand clenching into a fist, the left still bandaged tightly and hanging uselessly at his side. His blue eyes darted around the empty room. "That bloody bitch is here."

"I doubt either of them know how to play," Buffy replied to Willow's question.

"Ok, people, am I invisible?" Xander said, moving in front of Willow and waving his hands.

"Xander, what are you doing?" Willow asked. "We have a serious problem here." She turned to Giles. "Maybe if we worked together..."

"Are you sure?" Angel said, putting his hand on Spike's shoulder.

Spike looked up at the taller vampire, fear and anger in his eyes. "Yes, I'm bloody well certain, you sod," he replied. His body tensed up further, the adrenaline rushing under his skin as tendrils of her whispers invaded his mind. "No," he ground out, putting his right hand to his forehead, trying to prevent her voice from affecting him.

"I KNOW HOW TO PLAY!" Xander suddenly shouted, causing everyone to jump.

In startled reaction, Spike's demon face came to the foreground and he growled loudly. He reached out and grabbed Buffy's hair, yanking her roughly around to face him. Her yelp of pain was cut off as his mouth descended upon hers viscously, his fangs cutting into her lips as he plunged his tongue between them. He broke the kiss, his yellow eyes flashing, and practically dragged her into the other room by her hair.

"Isn't anyone going to stop them?" Xander finally asked when they heard the door to the hall with the offices slam.

"They're fine," Angel said reassuringly. "Now, did you say that you knew how to play?"

Spike slammed Buffy up against the wall, causing her to gasp as the breath was knocked out of her. His mouth crushed against hers again as he shed his duster, letting it fall to the dirty floor. He grabbed the waistband of her shorts and panties, then pulled them down as far as he could without breaking away from her mouth. His good hand immediately sought her heat and he thrust two fingers into her as he raised his foot to shove her shorts and panties the rest of the way to the floor.

"Yeah," Xander replied, looking over at the doorway the couple had gone through.

"You do?" Willow said. "Since when?"

"Since you hooked me up with a computer," he answered. "I play online."

"What is your, er, standing?" Giles asked, long forgotten terminology coming to mind.

Spike freed his hard cock then rubbed it against Buffy's dark curls, his mouth moving from her mouth to her neck. His fangs sliced the skin as she wrapped her legs around his waist. He positioned himself, then slammed into her fully, her lower back banging against the wall. He set a furious pace, growling and biting at her skin as she held on for dear life.

"Master," Xander replied. "At least, in the arenas I play in."

"My word, Xander," Giles said. "That is-is-is astounding."

"And kinda freaky," Willow said. Xander looked hurt, and she quickly added, "I meant that with this game we need a 'master' and you're a-a Master. Why didn't you tell me?"

Xander shrugged. "It's just something I do when everyone else is busy and I want to hide from my parents," he replied. "Nothing big about it."

"Well, Xander, I think it's wonderful," Giles told him. He gestured to the computer console. "I guess you should, er, familiarize yourself with that-that-that machine."

"Will do, big kahuna," Xander replied.

Buffy clawed at the back of Spike's neck as her lower back was constantly banged against the wall. He had sliced the skin of her upper chest and was gripping her buttocks painfully with one hand, the other just supporting her as he slammed in and out of her. She cried out as an orgasm as violent as he was tore through her body, her legs squeezing his waist in a death grip. Spike snarled loudly and ripped a bit of skin off from above her breast, causing her blood to flow freely as he latched his mouth over the wound.

Willow saw Angel stiffen suddenly, then relax again. "What is it?" she asked, concern winning over her nervousness around him.

"It's nothing," Angel replied. She gave him her 'I'm not dropping this until you tell me, buster' look. "I, uh, heard Buffy...er..."

"Oh!" Willow said, her face reddening as she understood what he meant. The blush deepened as her mind brought up the memories of her and Angel and she quickly turned her attention to Xander, who was sitting behind the computer.

Angel closed his eyes briefly and swallowed. His mind had also brought up the memories when he realized why Buffy was crying out. He wanted nothing more than to grab the redhead and cart her off much as Spike did the Slayer and bury himself in her sweetness. "I'm going to go and...," he trailed off with a wane smile and left the main room.

Spike shot his dead seed deep within Buffy's core as her blood flowed over his tongue. He held her captive against the wall until she lowered her legs from around his waist. Raising his head, his yellow eyes met her hazel ones and he read confusion and slight fear in hers. Forcing the human mask back over his features, he stepped away from her and readjusted his clothing.

Buffy bent and quickly put her panties and shorts back on, then looked down at her chest and tank top. Both were covered with blood and scratches, most of which were already healing. She raised her eyes to his again and saw that his held tears. She stepped forward and opened her arms, pulling him into a tight embrace. "Hey, it's going to be ok," she cooed, misunderstanding the reason behind his tears. "It's just a little blood. It's not like you haven't done this before. I'll heal."

Spike just held her close, not really hearing her, as he forcefully pushed away Drusilla's delighted laugher, still echoing in his head.

Buffy had disappeared into the ladies' restroom with Spike's red button-down shirt in order to wash the blood out of her tank top. The blond vampire stood uncertainly in the doorway leading to the offices, his blue eyes flitting around the room, not focusing on anything in particular. His hands were deep in the pockets of his duster, holding the material close around him as if for protection.

Cordelia came into the room from the hall that led to the outside, took one look at him and sniffed disdainfully before venturing out to the main gaming room. Faith trekked in a moment later, a backpack and a duffel bag slung over her shoulder, walkman in her hand. She was singing along to the music, her voice harsh, yet strangely melodic to Spike's ears.

"I am the city, I am the park, I am the ground and the mother-fucking dog. I am shocked and deceived. I don't want to believe no more. No more. No more," Faith sang. She dropped the duffel bag onto the floor and bent to dig something out of it. "Golgotha tenement, city of souls. Give me your down and your wicked and your dollar whores. Turn on your brother, the children are sold. The people wait for streets of gold, streets of gold. No more. I am the chosen one. I am the chosen one."

She stood and faced him, then tossed a pack of cigarettes at him. With a wink, she went into the main room, her voice fading as she sang. "I am the chosen one. I am the chosen one...."

"Spike," Angel said, coming out of the men's restroom where he had decided to hide in order to collect his raging hormones. He went over to the blond vampire who stood staring down at the pack of cigarettes in his hand. "Hey, are you home in there?"

Spike raised his eyes to his sire, the orbs full of pain and rage. Then, he did something completely uncharacteristic, something that went against the very grain of everything that made him who he was -- but his world was so askew, it didn't matter anymore. With a choked noise that could have been a sob, he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around the older vampire, pressing his face into Angel's chest as he tried to stop the images in his mind.

Angel was surprised, but he responded immediately by holding Spike close, as a father would his child. "I won't let her get to you, Spike," he said quietly, feeling the younger vampire trying to stifle his crying. "Buffy won't either. We'll protect you."

"I didn't tell her," Spike said. "I don't want her to know. I don't want her to know. I don't want her to know. I don't want her to know..." He repeated the sentence over and over, his voice growing softer and softer.

"Shh, it'll be ok, Spike," Angel comforted. "I won't tell Buffy. But I really think you should. She loves you and can help..."

"No," he replied, pushing away from Angel roughly and wiping his face with the back of his bandaged hand. "I won't drag her into this crap with Dru."

Angel sighed. "Very well," he said. "Why don't you go outside for awhile, let the fresh air help clear your head. I'll come get you before the game starts."

Spike nodded and glanced at the ladies' restroom door, then walked past his sire towards the exit. Once outside, he walked over to Xander's car and sat on the hood, lighting up a cigarette from the pack Faith gave him. Then he stared up into the night sky, the stars obstructed by the heavy, dark clouds that had prevailed all day yesterday and today. The same clouds that had prevented him from killing himself.

Head like a hole

Black as your soul

I'd rather die

Than give you control

One part of him was glad that he failed in that attempt, the part that held Buffy reverently, that cherished each moment with her sunlight. The rest of him, however, cursed the sky and the weather and Drusilla for having some sort of hold over him. He didn't remember too much of what had happened the day before, only that he had gone into the sewers and tried to force Dru from his mind. He supposed that was how he hurt his hand, which he still couldn't feel. He only wished the rest of him couldn't feel.

Bow down before the one you serve

You're going to get what you deserve

Bow down before the one you serve

You're going to get what you deserve

Angel walked back into the main room where the giant chess board was set up to see Faith dancing around to music only she could hear. Xander was engrossed in the computer console while Cordelia sat cross-legged by the wall, reading a magazine. Giles and Willow were both kneeling on the floor across from each other, an open book next to them and spell components between them.

His eyes traveled over the redhead and she raised her eyes as if she sensed him looking at her. She cocked her head as if asking him what was wrong, and he shook his in return, letting her know that he'd tell her later. As she went back to working with Giles, he marveled at the fact that he could easily communicate with her without words. He didn't know if that was a good thing or not.

Walking up behind Xander, being sure to make noise so he didn't scare the teen, he put his hand on the back of the chair and looked at the screen. "How's it going, Xander?"

"Ok," Xander replied, closing one screen and opening another. "I've been able to piece together what exactly I have to do. It's kind of a cross between regular chess and that scene from Star Wars, when Chewbacca and R2 are playing that whacked-out chess game and C-3PO says: 'I suggest a new strategy, R2. Let the Wookie win.'" He pulled up the starting board and gestured to it. "You guys are going to be the 'royalty' on the board and I control your movements by telling you, well, where to move. The object is to put the other king in checkmate, just like normal chess. The king seems to be the only one who won't get his butt kicked at any time in the game."

"Sounds like fun," Angel said. He glanced behind him to see Buffy enter the room wearing Spike's red shirt buttoned up to the neck. "Let us know when you want to explain more."

"Aye, aye, Deadboy," Xander replied.

Angel shook his head and went over to the blond Slayer. "Where's Spike?" Buffy asked immediately.

"I sent him outside," Angel replied. "How bad are the bites?"

"Bites? Um, well..."

"Buffy-"

Buffy sighed and unbuttoned the top two buttons, showing him her slightly ripped up chest. Long, red slices ran from her collarbones down to the tops of her breasts. A raw patch that looked like a cross between an abrasion and a scrape was on the top curve of her right breast and he could see fang marks around the wound. "Seen enough?" Buffy said sarcastically.

"I just wanted to make sure he didn't hurt you," Angel replied. "He's not entirely in control of himself."

"Why? You didn't get a chance to tell me earlier," she said, re-buttoning the shirt. "Is it something that I did?"

"No," he said. "It was nothing that you did."

"Then what?"

"He just has a few things on his mind," Angel semi-lied. "It's not really my place to tell you. All I can say is to be there for him."

"I will always be there for him," Buffy said.

"Guys, I need everyone over here," Xander announced, breaking into the conversation.

"Why don't you go get Spike," Angel told her. "And make sure you tell him you love him. He really needs to hear it." Buffy gave him a confused look, then turned and left. As he watched her go, he quietly added, "He needs to hear it more than you can know, Buffy."

"First I need to now how many of you have any inkling of how to play chess," Xander began. Angel, Willow, Giles and, surprisingly, Faith all raised their hands. Buffy held Spike's good hand and shrugged while the blond vampire stared off into space. Cordelia stood with her arms crossed, a peeved look on her face. "Alright, I'm going to do a quick rundown of the board, so when I give you directions, you can follow them."

He turned and gestured to the giant board. "The rows going across the board are called ranks. Each square is labeled 'a' through 'h' starting in the bottom, left corner. The rows going up and down the board are called files. Each square is given a number, one through eight, starting again with the bottom, left corner. So this square," he said, walking over and standing in said bottom, left corner square. "Is 'a1.'" He took a step to his right. "This is 'b1,' this is 'c1' and so on."

He walked back over to the group and continued. "Each side has eight pawns and eight 'royalty.' There are two rooks, or castles; two knights; two bishops; a queen; and a king. Now, I've decided that I want Buffy as the white queen, since that is the most powerful piece on the board. Deadboy, you and junior are to be the rooks, with you on a1. Willow, you and Cordy are the knights. I'm putting you between Angel and Giles, who is the bishop. Faith, you're the other bishop, next to me."

"Do we get to wear those pointy hats?" Faith asked with a grin.

Xander ran a hand through his recently shorn hair. "No hats. But, you do get weapons. I have no clue who's on the other side, but my guess is they aren't going to be pretty. Probably vampires, demons and other things that like to carve humans up and use their bones as toothpicks."

"Giles and I have cast a protection spell over everyone," Willow said, then glanced at Angel. "Well, not everyone, because it doesn't work on vampires. Sorry."

"The spell won't, er, protect you from danger," Giles said. "But it will offer a-a bit of extra help against whatever you are fighting, especially magick users."

"Let's see, what else? Oh, if you capture a pawn, I guess the piece just disappears. No fighting required. The only other thing I can think of is that you can move off the board only when you are in file one. Once moved somewhere else on the board, you have to stay there until the break," Xander said. "Are there any questions?"

"Yeah, why is my life in your hands?" Cordelia said. "Your knowing what you are doing is like saying that Drusilla wasn't a psycho."

Spike's head shot around to stare at the brunette, his hand squeezing Buffy's tightly. "Ow, Spike," Buffy said, grabbing his arm. "You're hurting my hand."

"Bloody hell," Spike cursed, loosening his grip. He went to run his other hand through his hair, but when he saw the white bandage he growled, dropped Buffy's hand and proceeded to rip the material off.

"Spike," Angel said sharply, his tone making everyone else look at him in surprise. "Stop it."

"But-"

"Now," Angel stated, as he crossed to the blond in two strides. He grabbed Spike's left arm above the wrist and held it tightly. Spike's eyes flashed in defiance, then lowered submissively when a warning growl came from deep within Angel's chest. He dropped his childe's arm and turned to see the others staring at him with confusion or trepidation. "Sorry. Go on, Xander."

"Um, yeah," Xander said. "There's nothing really more to say, other than where's the food, because I'm hungry."

The teen's joke broke the small bit of tension and everyone but Willow and Spike left the main room to raid the refrigerator. Spike stayed at Angel's side, staring at the bandage on his hand as the redhead looked questioning at the older vampire. "Angel, what's going on?" she asked, letting her concern override her feelings of unease.

Angel took her arm and led her off to the side, away from the blond vampire who did not even notice that they'd gone. "It's Drusilla," he answered, unable to lie to her. "She's messing with his mind."

"That's not good," Willow said, secretly pleased that he still held her arm. "Not good at all."

"No, it's not," he replied. "You may hear or see me do a few things that are...very vampire-like, for lack of better term. I'm still me, though, so don't be afraid."

"I won't," she said. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Unless you know some spell that can block Drusilla from his mind, no," Angel said. He glanced back at Spike, who had started to pace back and forth and was chewing on his right thumbnail. "But can you sort of warn the others without alerting them to the problem. Spike doesn't want Buffy to know, for some dumb reason."

"Ok," Willow replied. She gave him a small smile. "Look. We're talking. With words and not uncomfortable silences."

Angel smiled back at her. "Looks that way," he replied. "I like it."

"Me, too," she answered shyly. "Um, I'm gonna go and eat something. Do you need anything?"

"No, I'm fine," he said.

"'K," Willow said, then turned and went into the other room.

Angel sighed again and went over to Spike. The younger vampire stopped and looked up at him. "What?"

"You know what," Angel said, taking the bandaged hand and looking at it.

"Shove off," Spike told him. "And take that stupid bandage with you."

"Can you even feel your hand?"

"No."

"That's because you did quite a number on it," Angel told him as he fixed the bandage. "Now, do you need anything before this game starts?"

"A hard fuck and a bullet to the brain would be good," Spike replied. "Not necessarily in that order."

"Well, I'm not going to give you either, so you're SOL," the dark-haired vampire responded.

"You're no bloody help," Spike grumbled, digging out another cigarette with his good hand. He jostled one out of the pack and pulled it into his mouth. "What's up with you and the little witch?"

"None of your business," Angel replied as he dropped Spike's hand.

"That bad, eh mate?"

"Spike, shut up."

Spike chuckled for the first time in days.

End of passion play, crumbling away

I'm your source of self-destruction

Veins that pump with fear, sucking darkest clear

Leading on your deaths construction

Spike sensed her before he saw her. He was pacing in his assigned square, h1, ignoring the part scathing, part scared looks Cordelia was giving him from the next square over, when her familiar presence hit him like a sledgehammer. He stopped pacing and spun around to face the other side of the board, where the opposing team was coming out of their own back rooms, his entire body coiled with tension, as if preparing for a fight.

He hadn't been in a good fight in awhile, and he liked violence. It was fun to spar with Buffy, but he missed being able to rip someone's arm off with his bare hands for no reason. The last big fight he'd gotten into had been in Brazil, a nice barroom brawl to christen his leaving the country to return to Sunnyhell. There had been a couple of martial artists of some sort in that fight, and he learned a few cool new moves. He loved the martial arts, especially the movies, like the Hong Kong action flicks. In fact, he wouldn't mind going to Hong Kong some day. He'd never been to the Asian world. Most of his travels revolved around Europe, mostly England, and then in America with Drusilla. Drusilla.

"You managed not to think of her for a whole minute, so things can't be that bad," Spike said to himself, watching the other team.

"What's not that bad?"

Taste me you will see

More is all you need

You're dedicated to

How I'm killing you

Spike whirled around and struck without thinking. His still-bandaged left hand connected with the Slayer's face, sending more pain to him than it did to her. "Bloody hell, that hurt," he growled, holding his hand protectively against him. He started to curse, fluently and in complete disregard for who was listening. Then, as Buffy stood there watching him with confusion, he started to pace again, saying the same sentence over and over. "You stupid bloody bitch, I hate you stupid bloody bitch, I hate you stupid bloody bitch, I hate you stupid bloody bitch, I hate you stupid bloody bitch, I hate you stupid..."

"Geez, Buffy, what is it with you and the psycho boyfriends?" Cordelia asked.

Buffy ignored her and stepped into Spike's path. When he saw her, he started again, bring his fist back to hit her until he realized who it was, or more specifically, who it was not. Instead of hitting her, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, mumbling in her hair that same sentence. "...Bitch, I hate you stupid bloody bitch, I hate you stupid bloody bitch, I hate you stupid bloody bitch, I hate you..."

Master of Puppets I'm pulling your strings

Twisting your mind and smashing your dreams

Blinded by me, you can't see a thing

Just call my name, `cause I'll hear you scream

Buffy didn't know what to do or what to make of his words, so she wrapped her arms around his waist under his duster and just held him.

Willow and Angel had been sitting next to each other in their respective squares, talking more comfortably with each other than they ever had before when Angel's head suddenly shot up and he peered across the room.

"What is it?" Willow asked, trying to see what he did.

"Drusilla," Angel replied, leaning back slightly to see around Xander and the computer console. Spike was staring across the board, as well.

"Here? She's here?" Willow said. "This is not good. This is so very not good. Not good in the very bad sense of the words not good."

"Very true," he replied. The other team, that was coming out of their own back rooms, was definitely made up of non-humans, and not just vampires. The black king, who had come out first and was now seated at the other computer console, looked like a troll or perhaps a gnome. It was hard to tell under the heavy, black robe he wore.

Angel heard Spike growl and turned to see him start pacing, his mouth moving as if he were saying something, but Angel could not hear it. He saw Buffy step into his path, then the blond vampire wrap his arms around the Slayer and hold her.

"There she is," Willow said.

Master, Master, Where's the dreams that I've been after?

Master, Master, You promised only lies

Laughter, Laughter, All I hear and see is laughter

Laughter, Laughter, laughing at my cries

Spike knew the second she entered the room, because he felt himself almost being physically pulled towards her, as if he were still attached to the wires of his dreams. Her voice echoed in his head, calling to him, and he held Buffy tighter in response, his voice getting louder as he tried to block Drusilla out. "...Hate You Stupid Bloody Bitch, I Hate You Stupid Bloody Bitch, I Hate You Stupid Bloody Bitch, I Hate You Stupid Bloody..."

Buffy was scared. She didn't know what to do. She didn't know what was wrong. She didn't know how to make things better. She felt helpless. She was scared.

"Shit," Angel swore, causing Willow to look at him oddly.

"What's wrong?" Willow asked.

"Remember what I told you about how I might act?" Angel said, rising to his feet.

"....YOU STUPID BLOODY BITCH, I HATE YOU STUPID BLOODY BITCH..."

"Oh goddess," Willow said, watching as Angel quickly crossed the back of the board, behind his confused somewhat-friends. She stood as well, following behind him until she was standing with Giles near Faith and Xander.

Angel went up behind Spike and put his hands on both shoulders, physically yanking the younger vampire around. Spike let go of Buffy as he was turned, his fists flying out, his face changing into that of his demon. Angel blocked them both easily, then took hold of his childe's upper arms and pulled him within inches of his face. "Spike," Angel ground out, his gaze meeting wild yellow eyes. "Look at me."

Spike tried to get away, snarling at his sire and Angel shook him harshly. Then, he started walking forward, pushing the blond vampire back with each step until Spike was against the wall of the main room. Angel closed his eyes a moment as Spike continued to snarl, and when he reopened them, his fierce, commanding yellow eyes met his childe's.

Hell is worth all that, natural habitat

Just a rhyme without a reason

Never-ending maze, drift on numbered days

Now your life is out of season

He let go of Spike's arms and grabbed him with one hand by the throat, raising him slightly off the floor. A low, powerful growl rolled across the floor to where the other five were standing, watching the two vampires. They each stiffened visibly with the sound, even Willow, who was prepared because of what Angel had told her.

Come crawling faster

Obey your Master

Your life burns faster

Obey your Master

Spike suddenly stopped struggling, as if the strings controlling him had been cut. He closed his eyes tightly against the tears that started to fall, unheeded, down his cheeks. When he opened them again, his human mask was back in place and he stared at Angel unseeingly, his blue eyes reflecting complete fear.

Master of Puppets I'm pulling your strings

Twisting your mind and smashing your dreams

Blinded by me, you can't see a thing

Just call my name, `cause I'll hear you scream

Angel let his own human mask return and he lowered Spike to his feet. He let go of the younger vampire's throat and put his hands on both shoulders. "Spike, look at me," Angel commanded in a quiet, but firm tone. When Spike didn't, he enunciated each clipped word. "Look. At. Me."

Finally, recognition flitted across Spike's face as he looked Angel in the eyes. "Cor, Angelus, make her stop," he whispered, his voice closing as he became choked up. "Make her stop."

"Buffy," Angel raised his voice slightly so the blond Slayer would hear him. Spike's eyes were still locked with Angel's as she hurried over to them, her face expressing her worry and fear over what was happening to her love. "Spike, Buffy's here."

"Hey," Buffy said quietly, taking Spike's good hand in hers. "Are you ok?"

Spike dropped his eyes to Buffy as a feeling of calm stole over him from her action. He nodded slightly to answer her question, squeezing her hand.

A loud bell sounded, startling everyone, and a voice came over the loud speaker. "Players. It is now midnight. Welcome to the Endgame. The bell you just heard will signal the end and beginning of each round. White moves first. May the best team win."

Angel looked over his shoulder and met Willow's gaze, Buffy and Spike continued to look at each other, and the others exchanged nervous glances. "Well, gang," Xander said. "As Caine once said in Mortal Combat: 'Let the games begin.'"

Eight black and eight white pawns appeared from beneath the floor as the squares slid back and the knee-high, metallic pieces were put into play. Since they were free to move while still in rank one, Buffy stayed with Spike, sitting on the floor of his square with their backs to the opposing team, holding hands. The others returned to their respective spots on the giant chess board and Xander loaded up the main screen.

Using his mouse to click on the pieces, Xander said, "e2 to e4." In response, the pawn in front of him moved forward two spaces on little wheels.

"That's pretty cool," Faith said from his right side. "Can you make them roll over and play dead, too?"

Across the room, they saw the black pawn at e7 move forward two spaces to e5, so the white and black pawns were in connecting squares facing one another. "Cordelia, move to f3," Xander said, repeating the action on the computerized board. Cordelia huffed and moved to the square two in front of Faith, with only a pawn separating them. The black team repeated the action with their troll knight, moving him from b8 to c6. "Faith, toddle on across the board to c4."

"Oh man," Faith grumbled, doing as told. "Now I don't get to see what you're doing."

The next few moves were standard. The black bishop at f8, a really ugly green demon, moved to c5; the white pawn at c2 moved to c3; the black knight at g8, just a garden-variety vampire, moved to f6; the white pawn at d2 moved to d4. Then, black team performed the first capture of the game. The pawn at e5 moved on Xander's white pawn at d4. The group watched as the floor opened up and the white pawn disappeared beneath it, then the black pawn took its spot. Xander retaliated by having his white pawn at c3 capture the black pawn that just took d4. The floor, once again, opened and the black pawn disappeared beneath it.

"This is really exciting, Xander," Cordelia commented, looking over at him. "I am so glad I gave up my time to help you losers out."

"Why don't you pay attention, Cordy?" Xander replied, watching as the green demon black bishop of c5 moved to b4, putting him in check. "You might actually learn something...oh, wait. I forgot, your brain is already full with trying to remember whether it's still safe to wear white or not. Willow, move to c3."

Willow pouted because of the interruption in her conversation, causing Angel to chuckle, and she moved to the correct spot, two in front of Giles and next to Faith. She immediately struck up a conversation with the bored, brunette Slayer. Next, the black pawn moved from d7 to d5, Xander moved his white pawn at e4 capture it, then the vampire black knight at f6 captured Xander's newly moved white pawn at d5, putting the vampire catty-corner to Faith. They both stiffened and watched each other in a predatory fashion. All of these movements took three hours of Xander using a part of his brain that few people knew he had, leaving only one hour to go before the first break.

"Dang," Xander said, studying the computerized board. "Spike, we're castling." Spike and Buffy looked at Xander in confusion as the teen stood and began pushing the console to the right. "Get up and move to the other side of me," Xander instructed. "Buffy, get back to your spot, please."

"Yes, sir, Xander, sir," Buffy teased, letting go of Spike's hand and returning to her spot at d1. Spike ended up at f1 with only one empty square between him and Buffy, and Xander was now at g1.

The moment Buffy dropped his hand, Spike felt as though he stuck his finger into an electric socket. All of her calming influence instantly evaporated, leading him to tense up. His eyes traveled unwillingly across the room to where Drusilla regally stood as the Black Queen. His Black Queen. Memories sprang up anew of his times with her -- deliciously, wicked memories that enticed him to turn his attention fully on the vampiress.

Drusilla's lips were curled up in a small smile and she held his eyes, despite the distance between them. She began to sway slightly, back and forth, like a cobra getting ready to strike. Spike felt everything slipping away as he began to sway with her, hypnotized by her eyes and her voice in his head.

Buffy had turned to Giles, who was next to her, and had began a conversation while Angel was busy staring at Willow, so no one noticed what was happening to Spike. He started to remove his bandage as the coy voice in his mind instructed, never breaking his swaying, as the white and then blood- stained material pooled on the floor by his feet. Unnoticed by him, the green demon black bishop at c8 moved to e6 as he took his lighter out of his pocket. The cheap, black zippo flamed easily as he depressed the button with his right hand.

"Giles, move to g5," Xander called over to the Watcher, not raising his eyes from the computer screen.

"SPIKE!" Buffy's screech suddenly filled the air, making everyone jump as she tackled the blond vampire to the floor, the black lighter skidding away as it flew out of his right hand. She beat at his flaming left hand with the edge of his duster as Angel ran over to them. Spike stared blankly at what Buffy was doing, his face an expressionless mask.

Angel glared over at Drusilla, who was laughing evilly, then turned his attention back to Spike. He backhanded the younger vampire across the face. "Spike, break it. Break her hold," he ordered as Buffy looked in horror at Spike's hand. What little flesh was left on the hand had melted together with the ripped and raw muscle, the bones showing clearly. His knuckles were now black instead of white where the flame had charred them and the hand twitched involuntarily as the nerves that weren't severed reacted.

"Now, isn't this a cozy little picture," Cordelia commented from her spot. "I-"

"Cordelia, go suck someone so your mouth isn't moving in vain," Xander shot at her.

"And I bet you'd like that to be you," she replied.

"Sorry, but no. There's no telling what your mouth has been around, Miss Hoover," he said sweetly.

"Dammit, Spike!" Angel growled, grabbing his childe by the lapels of his duster and shaking him roughly. "Snap out of it!"

"Angel, what's wrong with him?" Buffy's voice was high pitched as she repeated the question. "What's wrong with him? Tell me, please. What's wrong?"

"She's got him in a trance of some sort," Angel snarled in reply. He let go of Spike's coat, trying to think of what to do as he sat back on his heels, but his fury was preventing him. He looked up and met Willow's eyes across the few squares separating them, and felt her concern, worry and support wash over him, letting him calm down slightly so he could think clearly.

Buffy leaned forward and put her hand on Spike's cheek. "Spike?" she said in a trembling voice.

Spike suddenly inhaled sharply, although unnecessarily, as if he'd been drowning and he broke through the waves. He blinked rapidly, his blue eyes gaining focus on the slight blond leaning over him with a very fearful look on her face. "Slayer?"

"Yeah, sweetie," Buffy replied, tears filling her eyes, her fingers caressing his cheek. "It's me."

"That's it," Angel said suddenly. Buffy glanced up at him in question, but quickly returned her attention to the downed vampire. "You're the connection, Buffy."

"I'm the what?" she asked, helping Spike to sit up.

"You're blocking her," he told her. "When you touch him, you block her manipulations enough that he can mostly keep control."

"Who?" Buffy said. "You keep saying 'her.' Who's her?"

"Dru," Spike answered in a rough voice, his eyes straying across the game board to the vampiress. He tried to grab Buffy's hand, but found that he couldn't seem to work it. "Slayer, please."

Buffy followed his gaze to where he was looking and emitted a growl equal to a vampire at Drusilla before straddling his legs so she was blocking his view. She put both her hands on either side of his face and pressed a gentle kiss on his lips. "I'm here, Spike," she whispered. "I'm here."

Giles, seeing that everything was under control, made his move across the board to where Xander instructed. The green demon black bishop practically mimicked his movements by going from b4 to e7. Xander looked over at the three. "Are we good to go, guys?"

"Yeah," Angel answered, rising to his feet, glaring the whole time at Drusilla. "Go ahead, Xander. The sooner we get this game finished, the better."

"Right," Xander nodded. He studied the pieces on the computer screen, then a sly smile crossed his face. "Hey Faith!"

"Hey Xand!" Faith replied with equal inflection.

"See that vampire that's catty-corner to you on d5? The one who needs an orthodontist?"

"Yeah," Faith said.

"Kick his ass."

"With pleasure," she replied with a wicked grin.

The brunette did not hesitate in launching herself at the vampire in a powerful side kick. She followed it up with a spin kick to the jaw, then had to duck and block as the vampire retaliated. She grabbed his next swing and twisted his arm, using her left fist to punch him in the face. Stomping down on his foot, she whipped out her stake from the waistband of her pants and thrust it home. The vampire black knight disappeared in a cloud of dust leaving Faith to occupy his square.

Xander looked back at the computer console after the fight and saw that there was a large countdown clock counting down from five minutes. "Looks like we get a short reprieve," he said to the others. "Although I don't think it takes five minutes to clean up a pile of dust."

"Now what?" Faith asked.

"It's their move," Xander answered. "If that troll catty-corner to you on e6 moves to capture you, kick his ass, too."

Faith smiled brightly and it was obvious to everyone that she was on an adrenaline high from the fight. "That's five by five," she replied.

"What planet are you from?" Cordelia said.

"Not Planet Gold Card, like you," Xander said.

"That is just so original, Xander," Cordelia replied. "Where do you come up with material like that?"

As Xander and Cordelia continued their insult-fest, Willow turned to Angel, who was still standing near Buffy and Spike, and made a very obscene gesture with her hands in regards to the former couple. Angel burst out laughing, making the redhead smile hugely and the others look at him strangely. Ignoring them, he shared an intimate grin with her, relaxing despite the problems Drusilla was causing.

Buffy turned back to Spike and gave him a small smile, her hands still on his face. She met his clear, blue eyes and read his love for her in them. She slid her hands around the back of his neck and leaned forward, initiating a slow, loving kiss which blocked out everything around them, including Faith's violence against the troll bishop. Cool against warm, their lips tasted and caressed, their tongues joined together in a gentle dance that filled their hearts with warmth and happiness and love.

They didn't separate until a loud bell sounded, signaling the beginning of the first two-hour break.

Part Nine

"I don't know, Will," Buffy said as she sat next to the redhead, waiting for Spike to emerge from the men's restroom where he was getting his hand re-bandaged by Angel. "This is the most vulnerable I've ever seen him, even when we were in those caverns. He was scared then, but right now he is terrified. We're talking Hellmouth-reopening fear."

"So, what are you going to do?" Willow asked.

"I'm going to take him into one of those offices and make love to him for the next hour and a half," she replied.

"Wish I could do that with Angel," Willow muttered to herself. Unfortunately, it was loud enough for the Slayer to hear.

"You want Angel? As in, getting him naked and having your way with him?" Buffy said in surprise.

Willow started to blush. "It would be nice," she replied. "After all, I didn't get to see anything last time." She suddenly clamped her hand over her mouth, not believing what she said.

"Last time?!" Buffy practically shrieked. "There was a time before when he was naked with you?!"

Giles, the only other current occupant of the room, felt his ears start to burn and he quickly made his way into the main game room.

"Um...yeah," Willow admitted. "In the house. When we were trapped in that room for days."

"Oh my god!!" Buffy exclaimed. "This is so great! Unless you didn't like it. Did you like it?"

"Oh yeah," she replied, her blush deepening and a grin crossing her face. She ducked her head to hide behind her hair.

"Wait, that was, like, months ago," Buffy said. "Why haven't you two done it since then? Angel hasn't done anything I need to stake him for, right? Like, ditching you."

"No!" Willow protested. "No, nothing like that. It's just, with that happiness clause attached to his soul..."

"But his soul is permanent," Buffy said, confused. "Giles told him in May. He was going through Ms. Calendar's last journal and found that information out. He made me go over the restoration spell with him a million times, verifying it."

"What?" Willow gasped. "You mean he knew?" Angel and Spike exited the men's room at that moment and the hacker saw red. "Will you excuse me a minute, Buffy?"

"Um, sure," Buffy replied.

Willow stood and walked over to Angel. Without a word, she reached up and grabbed his ear, then practically dragged him towards the hall leading to the offices.

Spike looked over at Buffy, who shrugged. "Don't ask me," she told him as she stood and took his unbandaged hand. "Come on, we have time to kill and I know just how to do it."

Leading him into the same hall that Willow and Angel had disappeared down, they could hear Cordelia and Xander shouting at each other from behind a closed office door.

"...Because I was afraid to get hurt, dammit!" Xander yelled. "I wanted to give you a reason to leave me, rather than you doing it because you came to your senses and figured out I wasn't good enough for you!"

"That has got to be the stupidest thing you ever did!" Cordelia yelled back. "Everyone knew I was in love with you but you!"

"Yeah, well, I never claimed to be all that smart!" Xander retorted. "All I knew was that I loved you and that it was only a matter of time before you split with me!"

"I wasn't going to break up with you, idiot! I was going to convince you to try and get into Sunnydale U, so we could continue to go to school together and help Buffy!"

"Why didn't you tell me this sooner?!"

"Because I thought you knew I loved you!"

Xander's response was cut off as Buffy shut the door to the office she led Spike into. "I really don't know why those two don't just get back together," she commented. "They belong together. She makes him less of an idiot and he makes her less of a bitch."

"Uh-huh," Spike replied, not paying attention. He felt as though he'd taken a holy water bath, then had to fight a Slayer who wanted to kill him, rather than love him. His emotions were all jumbled; the thread that held him to his sanity was tied to him with barely-holding knots that threatened to come undone at any moment; and he felt open, defenseless, unprotected. "I wish I was back at the mansion between them," he said, unknowingly out loud.

"You mean, between me and Angel?" Buffy asked. When he didn't answer, she tugged on his hand. "Hey, you still with me?"

"What?" Spike said, turning to face her.

"I asked if you meant between me and Angel," she repeated, releasing his hand to settle onto the floor.

He sank down next to her and rubbed his face tiredly before putting his bandaged hand on her upraised knee. "Yeah," he answered. "Though I hate that I feel that way."

"Why?" she asked.

"Because I don't want to put myself in that position again," Spike replied, scowling at the opposite, bare wall. "I'm a master vampire, for bloody sake. I don't want anyone to have that sort of power over me." He leaned his head back and closed his eyes. "Angelus use to...control me like that, keeping me in his bed and dependent on him. You don't know the sort of power my sire has over his favorite childer. It took me a long time to break his hold on me. A bloody hell of a long time."

"But Angel has his soul now," Buffy said. "He doesn't want to control you, he wants to protect you and help you."

Spike sighed. "I know that, Slayer. But it doesn't make it any easier for me to deal with," he said. "Besides, there are probably a friggin' lot of things he'd rather be doing than playing sire to a sod like me."

In fact, Angel would rather be playing sire to Spike than facing the fury that emanating from a redhead named Willow.

"I cannot believe you! You...you...pig! You liar! You vampire gigolo!" Willow was pacing back and forth after having thrown him into an office and slamming the door. "If you just wanted to have no-strings sex, you should have told me!"

"Willow-"

"Don't you say anything, Angel!" she growled at him. "There is no way to apologize for lying about your soul. I am so...'grr' with you right now."

"When did I lie about my soul?" Angel asked, confused.

"Giles told you that it was permanent," Willow sneered. "And yet you made me believe that you needed to leave Sunnydale because you were afraid to lose it. Ooh, I have an urge to turn you into the rat you are!"

Angel grabbed her shoulders and stopped her pacing, turning her to face him. "Giles told me what?"

"That your soul was permanent," she replied, scowling at him. "But you already knew that."

The dark-haired vampire could only stare at her, dumbfounded. "My soul is permanent?"

"Duh," Willow said sarcastically.

"I didn't know," he said in a stunned voice. He was trying to comprehend the fact that no matter how content he became, he never had to fear losing his soul again. He could be with Willow in all ways and not lose his soul.

"What do you mean, 'I didn't know'?" she asked. "Buffy said that Giles told you in May."

"He didn't," he answered. At her skeptical and still angry look, he added, "I swear, Willow, I didn't know."

"Oh," she replied.

"Yeah, oh," Angel repeated. Suddenly, a huge smile crossed his face as reality hit him. "Willow, I can't lose my soul!"

She frowned. "Didn't we just...Angel!" she exclaimed as he picked her up and spun her in a circle. "What are you doing?!"

"Nothing yet," he replied with a devilish grin.

"I don't underst-"

Willow's sentence was cut off when his mouth descended upon hers.

*****

"Hey, Giles," Faith said as she joined her and Buffy's Watcher in the main room, freshly cleaned from the troll blood that had coated her after the second fight, when the black bishop had tried to capture her square. "Where'd everyone go?"

"Actually, I'd prefer not to know," Giles replied, closing the book he was reading. "I'd like to keep my delusions that you children are, er...not..."

"Fuck-happy?" she finished.

"Precisely."

"I bet if you asked Angel, he'd disagree about 'playing sire' to you," Buffy said. "He seemed to be really worried, especially earlier today -- uh, yesterday - back at the mansion."

"Maybe," Spike replied. He opened his eyes and looked at her. His blue orbs seemed haunted and troubled, making Buffy's heart ache.

Silently, she went from her sitting position up onto her knees and moved between his legs. She pushed the duster from his shoulders and he let it slide down his arms onto the floor around him as he sat up straight. She then pulled the black T-shirt over his head and set it next to them before unbuttoning her borrowed, red shirt. It soon joined the slowly growing pile of clothing as Spike removed his shoes and socks, then undid the fastenings on his jeans.

Buffy stood and took off the rest of her clothes as he spread the duster out on the floor; then he shed his jeans and pulled her down with him to the well-worn leather. His mind drifted back to the first time he'd made love to her in that small cave in the jungle. Everything had changed that day, for it was the first time he'd felt the sun in two hundred years.

Their lips met and they tenderly kissed each other as if it were that first time. His unbandaged hand skimmed over her body, barely touching her, yet sending shivers down her spine. She brushed her fingers over his face and neck before running them down his lean, muscular chest. He broke away from her mouth to kiss down the column of her throat, his lips cool against her hot skin.

"Oh, Spike, I love you so much," Buffy whispered, her hands moving around his waist to dance over his back.

Spike raised his head and looked her deep in the eyes, as tears of love and happiness, not pain, filled his own. He caught her mouth again as he moved over her, her body ready to accept him. As he entered her, his world shifted, becoming more focused and clear as though the past month and a half never existed. He knew, deep down, that this feeling wouldn't last, so he savored it.

He brought her over the edge again and again, capturing her cries of pleasure with his passionate and loving kisses. When his own climax came, the earth shattered into a million pieces, sending his undead heart skittering to the brink before falling over into bliss. Heavenly bliss.

"God, Willow, I've been aching to do that for months," Angel said as he set her onto her feet.

"Wait, I'm confused," Willow told him as she took a step away to help try and calm her pounding heart. "You mean, you really didn't know your soul was a permanent fixture in your life?"

"If I did, you wouldn't have left my bed for...well, you'd still be there," he replied with a rakish smirk. The redhead blushed the color of her hair. Suddenly, he pulled her into an impromptu jig, dancing with her around the small office.

Willow giggled as she tripped over her feet, trying to keep up with him. The expression on his face was priceless, a combination mischief and complete joy. He yanked her to him again and swooped down to grab her lips in another searing kiss. Her toes curled and her body tingled in places she didn't realize could tingle.

"Willow, Willow, Willow," he murmured after he broke away from her mouth. "The things I'm going to do to you as soon as we're out of here..."

"But aren't you leaving for LA on Monday?" she asked, hating to rain on her own happy parade. It sucked being logical all the time.

"Depends," he answered, letting the word dangle.

"On?" she finally said.

"On whether you're coming with me or not."

Willow's mouth dropped open. "You-you want me to go with you?" The end of her question came out as a high squeak. "But school, a-a-and the Hellmouth, and research girl. School."

"You said that already," Angel teased, then put a serious expression on his face that was betrayed by the light in his eyes. "I'll pull a few strings and get you transferred to UCLA. You can be research girl by email and the phone. And the Hellmouth ain't gonna explode if you're not here."

"Goddess, you have me all moved in with you already," she said, stunned. "I think I need to-to-"

"Willow, I love you."

"-to pass out from complete lack of oxygen to my brain," she finished in a rush, her eyes wide. She pushed away from him and walked to the other side of the room, then turned to say something, but paused. She had no clue what to say. She never expected this turn of events. She had convinced herself that Angel was forbidden fruit that she got to taste once before being banished from the Garden of Eden. And he loved her. **Oh goddess, he loves me!**

Angel was watching the emotions play across her face. He was unsure of her reaction to his admission of love. And love her he did. Being forced to stay away from her had done nothing but make his love for her increase, for he was able to see her dedication, loyalty, intelligence and strength, as well as her sexuality, change over the past four months since he first noticed her as more than a friend.

He remembered that first time as if it were yesterday instead of back at the end of April. She had been dressed in her red overalls with a Hello Kitty shirt under them. She had been on patrol with him and Buffy that night, and was giddy from a sugar rush because of the mochas she'd brought for them. In one instant, when a vampire ran at her out of nowhere, he felt like he'd been hit by lightning.

He and Buffy had been too far from her when the vampire attacked and it had caused him to panic. However, he watched, stunned, as Willow arched one brow at the vampire, then calmly stepped to the side at the last second. The vampire ran headlong into a broken, wooden fence she had been standing in front of, staking himself. She had then turned to them and grinned, her red hair blowing around her face from the breeze.

Willow's thoughts were revolving around her own feelings for the dark-haired vampire with a soul. She'd thought of him day and night since their adventure in the last game. The funny part was that she missed talking with him and his company on patrols and such more than anything physical, although that played a part as well. She loved her friends dearly, but they couldn't seem to fulfill her need for intellectual stimulation, nor could they always understand her bizarre thoughts. Angel, however, proved that he could do both way back when he started becoming part of the group again, and she slowly found herself falling for him.

She caught herself on that thought and her eyes shot to his. When their gazes met, she felt a sense of rightness wash over her, causing her to smile. "I wonder what my parents will say when I tell them I'm going to UCLA?" she said casually.

Angel's laughter echoed down the hallway before being suddenly cut off as a certain redhead snatched it away with a kiss.

Willow suddenly found herself pushed up against the door of the office they were in with a very aroused vampire on his knees in front of her. "Angel, what are you...oh! Angel!"

Angel grinned devilishly at her as he undid her shorts and pushed them and her panties down to her ankles. "Sorry, Willow, I'm hungry for something sweet," he said, rolling up the hem of her T-shirt and then nuzzling the nest of curls.

"I, uh, didn't know I was, mmm, on the menu," Willow said as he separated her silken folds with his fingers and lightly blew on her clit.

"You're the appetizer, main course and dessert," he told her, then leaned forward and flicked her nub with his tongue.

"Oh boy," she gasped, her hands grabbing the material of his shirt, as he began to bathe her in long, wet licks. He traced all around her most sensitive spot, darting in and out of her core, tasting her. She was breathing sharply, her head falling back against the door as he teased her. He was making a low, satisfied sound deep in his chest as he tasted the juices already spilling from her.

"Angel!" Willow cried involuntarily when he latched onto her clit. He began to suck her, moving his jaw and tongue over and over her small, hard nubbin as she arched her pelvis to bring her closer to his mouth. Her hands moved from his shoulders to his hair, her fingers entwining in the dark locks as she moaned in pleasure. She felt a pressure building inside of her and she began to rock against his face, his name tumbling from her lips repeatedly, in rhythm with his ministrations. "Angel, Angel, Angel, Angel, Angel, Angel..."

A tingling feeling started in her toes, rose up her legs and engulfed her body as she flew into orgasm. She bucked against him, her head thrashing wildly, wanting him to stop, yet never wanting the exquisite feeling to end. A scream of pleasure erupted from her throat, her hands tearing at his hair as he held her firmly against his mouth, drawing her climax out.

Down the hall, Spike's head suddenly raised and the first smile in what seemed like forever crossed his face. "What are you smiling at?" Buffy asked, stretching luxuriously beneath him.

"Nothing, luv," Spike replied, leaning down to kiss her. "Nothing at all."

"Willow, you're blushing and smiling like a mad-woman," Buffy commented as she finished cleaning herself up in the ladies' room. "I take it you're not mad at Angel anymore."

"Nope. Not mad," Willow replied. "Definitely not mad. He has in no way made me mad, unless you count making me wait until we get out of here for the good stuff. If you mean that, then I'm mad."

"The good stuff?" Buffy asked. Willow's blushed deepened. "Willow! You were doing naughty stuff with Angel in that office!"

"Yeah," she answered. "Very nice naughty stuff. Stuff I wouldn't mind having him repeat soon." The hacker leaned closer to her best friend and whispered, "I was Angel's midnight meal."

Buffy giggled as she slid her cleaned and finally dry tank top on. "So, does this mean you two have a thing?"

Willow nodded enthusiastically, her hair swaying wildly with the movement. "He's my new snuggle- vampire."

"Care Bear with fangs, eh?" Buffy said. She surveyed herself in the mirror, then made a face at herself. "Come on, my naughty friend, let's go win this game so you can go home and get to the good stuff."

"Well?" Spike asked, leaning up against a sink in the men's restroom.

"Well what?" Angel said, drying off his face with a paper towel.

"Are you still all soul-having?"

"Would I be standing here talking to you if I wasn't?" Angel replied with a smirk. Spike continued to stare at him with a tense expression on his face. The older vampire sighed. "Yes, Spike, I still have my soul. It's just something I'm going to have to deal with on a permanent basis for the rest of my unlife."

"Good," Spike said, turning to face the mirror. "I like this you better."

"I thought you didn't like me at all," Angel commented as he studied the younger vampire.

"I don't," he replied. "You're annoying and pompous and smug and egotistical. You brood too much. You take no time out to have a little fun. You're too serious. You care too bloody much about others, even when I don't want you to care about me..." Spike's voice became softer as he continued, staring at the lack of reflection he made in the mirror. "You don't want to see me hurt and want to protect me. You are glad that Buffy loves me, even though that means she doesn't love you. You think a pathetic demon like me is worth the trouble of going against Dru." His voice hitched on her name, silent tears rolling down his cheeks.

Angel put his hand on Spike's shoulder and turned him until they were facing each other. "I need to know what you want me to do about her," he asked seriously.

"I don't know," Spike said, wiping his face with the palm of his right hand. "I just want her to leave me the bloody hell alone."

"Are you prepared for me to kill her?" Angel said. Spike flinched. "You know she's not going to stop until she has you back or you're dead."

"I know," Spike replied, slumping his shoulders as an air of depression settled around him. "Cor, why did it have to come down to this?"

Angel pulled his childe into a comforting embrace and was not surprised when he felt Spike's arms around his back, holding him closer. The ties of blood and history between them were re-woven with this small action, becoming stronger as his soul and Spike's uncommon depth of emotions merged with the strands.

"Giles, can I talk to you a second?" Willow asked.

"Certainly, Willow," Giles replied, rising to his feet. "What can I do for you?"

"Why didn't you tell Angel his soul was permanent?"

Giles frowned. "What do you mean? I told him back in-in May after I confirmed that it was indeed permanent."

"Don't lie, Giles, it's not nice," Willow scowled.

"I assure you, I am telling the truth," Giles said, offended. "I remember distinctly picking up the phone and dialing Angel's new number a-and...oh dear."

"Oh dear what?"

"And then Faith came into the library a-after fighting that Kairneo demon," he continued, shaking his head with defeat. "We immediately got to-to work and I plum forgot to tell, er, him."

Willow folded her arms across her chest and gave him a patient look. "I think you owe someone an apology, Giles."

"Er, y-yes," Giles replied, nervously playing with his glasses. Angel walked into the main room at that moment and over to them, his hands going to rest on Willow's shoulders. "Um, Angel? I, er, must a-apologize for my absent-mindedness. It seems that I neglected to-to tell you about the condition of-of-of your soul."

"Don't worry about it, Rupert," Angel said, shaking his head.

"Yes, right. Well, um, right," Giles said. "Do you know how-how Spike is doing?"

"He's ok for now," the vampire replied, pulling Willow back to lean against him. "I don't know how long that will last, though. Drusilla is really working a number on him."

"Be sure to let me know i-if there is anything I can do," Giles said.

Angel nodded and looked over his shoulder as Spike and Buffy entered. Faith was sharpening a knife, her foot tapping to a beat that came over her walkman, as she waited for the game to continue. "Where are Xander and Cordelia?"

"You don't think they killed each other?" Willow asked, looking up at Angel with a grin. "I hope, I hope."

"That's not nice, Willow," Angel scolded before dropping a kiss on her lips.

"Hey, no PDAs in the gaming room," Buffy said, smiling as she and Spike joined them.

"And what did you call that small display earlier?" Giles asked. Buffy wrinkled her nose at her Watcher.

Three short bells rang in the air before a voice came over the loud speaker. "Players, the game will continue in one minute. This is your one minute warning. Thank you."

"Geez, you'd think we'd have more than one minute to get back into place," Willow said as the black team filed out of their own rooms. "What if we were busy doing...stuff?"

"Then you'd have to finish really, really fast," Angel whispered in her ear, sending shivers down her spine. Cordelia and Xander entered the room together and all eyes turned to them.

"I still hate you," Cordelia said as she moved towards the giant board.

"I still hate you, too, Cordy," Xander replied, a small smile on his face. "Very, very much."

Faith turned to the five standing together with a pout on her face. "How come everyone has someone to play hide the salami with but me?"

Everyone retook their places on the board and Xander surveyed the computer console to ensure each 'piece' was in the correct spot. He was in square g1 with Spike still next to him in f1. Buffy was suppose to be two over from the blond vampire in d1, but she was standing with him instead and Angel was in his starting square at the end of the rank at a1. There were still six white pawns on the board, at a2, b2, f2, g2 and h2, and a lone pawn was at d4 catty-corner to Willow, who was at c3. Cordelia was two in front of Spike at f3 and Giles was in his spot at g5. Finally, Faith had taken over the square at e6 because she won the challenge from the last round of play and the funky rules of the game permitted her to stay in her original spot or take the challenger's spot.

On the black team, Xander noted that the black king was still at his starting spot at e8 with Drusilla next to him as the black queen at d8. Both black rooks were in the corners at a8 and h8 respectively. The black pawns were set up like the white paws at a7, b7, c7, f7, g7 and h7. The ugly green demon bishop was between Faith and the black king at e7 and a lone black knight, another vampire, was in square c6.

It was Xander's turn to move again and he whistled tunelessly as tried to map out what he wanted to do. "Spike, move one over," he finally instructed the vampire.

Spike took the square at e1, enabling Buffy to stand in her own square, d1. They were both facing away from the opposite team, holding hands, but not speaking to one another.

"Ho-boy," Xander breathed as black made their next move. He raised his head and looked across the board at Giles. "Um, Giles? You might want to kill that ugly green demon coming at you."

"I see him, Xander," Giles said.

"What?" Buffy said, rising to her feet to see what was happening. "Oh god, Giles."

Giles watched as the ten-foot tall, green, disgusting-looking creature came towards him. His mind searched for any sort of relevant information on how to defeat such a demon. "Beheading, yes. But I don't have a-a sword handy. Knife to the heart, but where is it? Er..."

The demon snarled and the Watcher reeled back from the stench. "Ee-gads. Haven't you ever heard of a toothbrush?" Giles muttered as he drew his knife in one hand, a stake in the other. Suddenly, a light went on behind his eyes and he smirked.

Ducking under the creatures first swing, Giles let his alterna-persona loose and let the magick he'd long ago used to create chaos come back to him. "Janus, god of mischief, hear my calling," he chanted under his breath. "I bid you to work your magicks through me." The demon tried to grab him and he quickly darted behind it.

Giles felt the power of dark magick start to burn under his skin as he cut the black bishop across the back of the knee. He loosed his tightly controlled Watcher nature and let the words of magick flow. "A demon like this is a creature of might, change this demon into a sprite."

A purple light formed around the demon, first faint and then growing brighter and brighter as the magick engulfed it. The black bishop roared in anger, but the sound was suddenly cut off in a flash of blinding white light.

Giles blinked rapidly, his knife ready as he tried to clear his vision. "It worked," he murmured as he searched the air around him for the little creature that should be in the giant demon's place. His gaze drifted down to the floor in front of him and he let out a loud, un-Giles-like snort. "Dear heavens, this is one for the books."

Instead of a little creature he expected called a sprite, sitting before him was a green and white can of Sprite.

After everyone, save Spike, stopped laughing and the five-minute allotted time for clean-up of the remains, which consisted of Faith popping the top of the can of Sprite and guzzling the soda down, the game resumed. "Mr. Magic, if you'd please move to f4," Xander instructed with a grin.

Giles moved so that he was now in front of Cordelia, who gave him a patronizing shake of her head. "Only you would turn a demon into a can of soda and only Faith would drink it." Faith let out a loud belch in retort and the former cheerleader sighed. "Why do I put up with you people?"

"Must be our charming wit and sparkling personalities," Xander commented as the black king moved from his spot at e8 to f8. The teen frowned at the action. It was the first really bad move either team had made thus far. "It would have been smarter for the black king to castle with the black rook...wait, what am I saying? Please, play bad and make more mistakes," he muttered to himself as he surveyed his options. He raised his voice and called out to the brunette Slayer, "Faith, move catty-corner and make that pawn disappear at f7."

"That's no fun," Faith grumbled as she stepped towards where she was instructed. The black pawn vanished beneath the floor before she got into place. She eyed the black king hidden behind his computer console and dark robe with an evil glint in her eyes. "Hey, Xand. Can I kill the king?"

"No," Xander called across the board to her. "But you can taunt him mercilessly."

"Your mother was a hamster and your father smelled of elderberries," Faith said, deadpan.

The result -- all hell broke loose. For the black king moved the black queen from d8 to d4, capturing the white pawn.

Drusilla was now catty-corner to Willow, one square away from Giles and two squares in front of Buffy. Her eyes met Spike's, who had turned to look when everyone gasped, and she smiled evilly. "Hello, Spike. Would you like to play a game with mummy? I promise it will be such fun."

Spike was frozen in his spot, his hand clutching Buffy's tightly as he fought against her pull in his mind. He started growling deep in his chest, the sound slowly filling the room. Then he suddenly stopped as Buffy stepped in front of him and yanked his face down to hers, pressing a hard kiss on his lips. When she broke it, she stared into his eyes and he could see her fire and anger at what was happening.

"Buffy," Xander interrupted, nervously running his hand through his short hair. He looked up and met Cordelia's worried gaze, then looked over at the blond Slayer. "Move to capture d4."

"With pleasure," Buffy replied, a hard look coming over her features. She turned to go, but Spike's unbandaged hand shot out and grabbed her arm, pulling her back roughly against him. His mouth descended upon hers and she was swept away in a violent, possessive kiss which was over as swiftly as it began.

"I love you," Spike whispered harshly.

"I know," Buffy replied with a small smile. She squared her shoulders and turned to face her opponent. "Drusilla, you've messed with my men for the last time. It's time to say goodnight, Gracie."

Striding across the floor, stake in hand, the tiny, blond Slayer met the tall, brunette vampiress. Willow moved to the very edge of her square, trying to give them as much room as possible as the fight began. Without another word, Buffy shot her leg out, trying to clip Drusilla in the knee. Drusilla stepped back and avoided the blow, lashing out with a clawed hand.

Buffy caught her wrist and twisted it back, but had to drop it as the vampiress' other hand came up to strike. She blocked the attack and dropped down into a fighting stance, bringing up her wrists for another block. Spinning, she kicked at Drusilla's head, catching her across the face. Drusilla reeled with the blow, but did not falter as her eyes flashed an eerie green.

The vampiress' hand shot out faster than a cobra strike, her nails ripping across Buffy's exposed cleavage where the as yet unhealed marks from Spike's earlier mating with her still lie. The Slayer grunted in pain as new blood began to flow, her fist flying out to connect with Drusilla's mid-section. As she bent over, Buffy went to grab her hair, but Drusilla latched onto both of her wrists and flung her head upwards, clipping Buffy under the jaw with her head.

The Slayer's teeth clacked together, sharply biting into her tongue, as her head flew back on impact. Her mouth filled with her own blood and she had to blink away her tears of pain. Throwing her foot up in a snap-kick, she pushed Drusilla back a few steps in order to gain control.

That's when the images started.

In her mind, she saw Drusilla and Spike entwined together in front of a fireplace, the glow from the embers highlighting their pale skin as he moved in and out of her. The Spike in her mind was telling the vampiress over and over that he loved her and only her with each thrust. He climaxed, calling out Drusilla's name, then he tenderly cradled his mistress in his arms, placing loving kisses all over her face.

Buffy tried to shake it off as she barely dodged Drusilla's next attack. She swung her legs around, trying to knock the vampiress off of her feet, but once again she was unsuccessful. Rising quickly, she threw her hand out to grab Drusilla's swinging arm and yanked her closer, sending a palm strike up towards the vampiress' nose. Drusilla moved swiftly out of the way, then ducked under the hand that was holding her arm, bringing Buffy's up sharply behind her.

Angel moved behind Spike while the fight was happening, never removing his eyes from the two combatants. He could hear his childe muttering something over and over as he got closer. "She's let go of me, she's let go of me, she's let go of me, she's let go of me, she's let go of me, she's let go of me..."

He put his hand on Spike's shoulder. "What do you mean?"

"She's fucking let go of me," Spike replied in a harsh voice. "She's not in my head anymore."

"Oh God," Angel said, dread washing over him.

A new picture formed in Buffy's head, this one vicious and cruel. Blood and bodies were everywhere and she watched as Spike cut people down left and right, his fangs gleaming in the night, his face and chest covered with gore. She could hear the victims' screams in her mind, agonizing wails of death and misery. Spike held one blond girl, that looked almost exactly like her, by the back of the neck and savagely ripped out the girl's throat with his fangs. He then shared a hot, passionate kiss with Drusilla, the girl's life blood pumping from her neck and bathing them with the thick, red substance.

Buffy let out a cry of rage as she forced the vision from her mind. She spun out of Drusilla's hold and sent a back kick to her, followed quickly by a powerful drop kick. The vampiress was knocked back with the blows and the Slayer kept after her, sending punches and kicks flying, the stake still clutched in her hand. With an expert twist, Buffy managed to grasp Drusilla's arm and send her over her shoulder where she landed on the ground with a thud.

Buffy dropped down on one knee next to Drusilla and was about to plunge the stake home when a shot rang out.

Buffy blinked in shock. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion as she lowered her gaze from Drusilla's triumphant eyes to the small pistol in her hand. Her head continued its downward movement until she could see a circle of blood, growing bigger as she watched, right in the middle of her chest.

Dimly, she heard Willow scream and she fell backwards onto her butt, the stake dropping from nerveless fingers. She started to see black spots swimming before her eyes and she turned her head to find Spike standing so close, yet so far away. She blinked a second time, then the world went dark.

Spike just stood there. He couldn't feel anything, couldn't think anything, and couldn't say anything as the people around him erupted in chaos. All he could do was stand there and stare at where Buffy had fallen onto her side, a large, red stain visible in the middle of her back.

Angel moved across the floor in an instant, grabbing the gun out of Drusilla's hand and flinging it across the room. It hit the complex wall with a loud crack before falling to the ground. Drusilla started to laugh as Giles and Xander dragged Buffy's body off the board, her blood leaving a trail in her wake. Willow ran with Cordelia into the other room to get the medical supplies out of the refrigerator while the Watcher tried to staunch the flow of blood. Faith came up behind Drusilla as the vampiress stood, stake in hand, but Angel's shout startled them all.

"No!" he yelled sharply, grabbing Faith's wrist. "If you kill her, we're all dead."

"But she shot Buffy!" Faith yelled back.

"Faith, he's right," Xander called over to them. "If you kill her out of a capturing challenge, all of us forfeit our lives."

"Xander, see how much time we have left," Giles said as he slit Buffy's tank top down the center and pushed it away from her body.

Xander stood and quickly ran over to the computer console. "Fuck, only two minutes," he swore, slamming his hand down on the machine.

"Angel, I need you," Giles called to the vampire. Pulling Faith with him, Angel rapidly made his way over to Buffy's side. "The bullet passed through her body, but I do not know what it hit."

"Dammit, she stopped breathing!" Cordelia suddenly yelled from her position by the Slayer's head. She tilted Buffy's head back and started mouth-to-mouth. "Come on, Buffy. I'm not kissing you for nothing," she said between breaths.

Giles checked her pulse and found that it was still there, but very thready. "Xander-"

"One fifteen," Xander replied.

"I'm not going to be able to keep up mouth-to-mouth," Angel said quietly as he helped Giles patch the wound on Buffy's back so she wouldn't bleed out on the floor.

"I know," Giles replied.

"Here, this should help stop the bleeding," Willow said, handing Giles a quickly construed herb compound from the supplies in her bag. "I wish I had time to do a healing spell."

"I doubt it would work on a wound of this magnitude," the Watcher told her as he applied the compound.

"Forty-five, guys," Xander said.

"Yes, that's right Buffy, breathe for me," Cordelia said, listening to the shallow breaths the Slayer was taking on her own.

"Forty."

"Faith get back to your spot," Angel instructed. "Don't touch Drusilla."

"Thirty-five."

"Willow, there is nothing else you can do," Giles said as he set the compound on the floor next to the fallen blond.

"Thirty."

"I can pray to the goddess," Willow replied as she made her way back to her square.

"Twenty-five."

"Don't you die on me, Buffy," Cordelia said. "You still owe me for coming here and I aim to collect."

"Twenty."

Cordelia stood and walked to Xander, giving him a tight hug before returning to her square.

"Fifteen."

"Rupert, go," Angel said quietly. "I've got her."

"Ten."

Giles nodded and stood, wiping the blood on his pants as he headed back to his spot.

"Five."

Spike still stood there, staring at the spot of blood on the ground where Buffy had fallen.

A short beep sounded on the computer console, signaling the restart of the game.

"Xander, end this game as quickly as you can," Angel said to the teen who had retaken his seat at the computer console.

"Right, quickly," Xander nodded. He looked at the screen and realized that the black king made another stupid move by not moving Drusilla to Buffy's square, as was the victor's choice. Instead, the black king chose to move the black queen to d1 on his turn and the teen hoped to use the mistake to his advantage. However, the black king's move put the black queen in a position for a possible checkmate.

And it put Drusilla right next to Spike.

"Wasn't that a fun game, luv?" Drusilla asked the blond vampire, who still had yet to move. "The Slayer made such a funny noise. A little pop, then a whish, like a balloon. And then she turned such a pretty red. It made me hungry."

Spike slowly turned his head until he was looking at the vampiress. His eyes were icy and lifeless, his face was expressionless as he stared at her.

"End the game quickly," Xander mumbled to himself. "Ok, I can do this. I just have to put myself in discovered check and hope that Miss Looney Tunes doesn't come after me." With a final glance at the screen, he made what he hoped to be his last move. "Spike, move straight up the board to e8."

Spike blinked slowly, acknowledged Xander's instruction with a barely perceptible nod of his head, and headed across the board. The black king was now in check. The black king would be forced to move out of check by having his black rook at a8 challenge Spike -- then either he or Xander would win. Which meant that the game was solely in the blond vampire's hands.

The same vampire who just saw the love of his unlife get gunned down by his old love.

Spike stopped walking, turned and stood facing the black king, his eyes closed. Faith was catty- corner to him in f7 and she was giving him part worried, part confused looks. "Hey Blondie, are you ok?" she asked.

He did not even acknowledge that she spoke.

"Xander, get over here!" Angel shouted, his voice carrying easily across the board. Faith turned and saw the dark-haired vampire compressing Buffy's chest as the teen skid across the floor to her head, immediately starting mouth-to-mouth.

Still, Spike did nothing.

The black king made his move. Behind the blond vampire, a blue, multi-armed creature, who was the black rook, came running at Spike from the square a8. Two of its arms held short swords and one carried a small shield. The fourth, fifth and sixth arms were all free, the large, multi-digit hands prepared to grab at its opponent.

It came at Spike without a noise, his horned head raised with an evil smile on his face. With an extra burst of speed, it seemed the creature would mow down the blond vampire. In reality, things turned out very different. For at the last second, Spike turned and grabbed the creature by the throat, using its momentum to throw him towards the black king.

And Spike stood there, still holding the creature's esophagus with his white, bandaged hand.

"Checkmate," Faith whispered as she stared at the body part in the vampire's hand.

A loud buzzer sounded, then a voice came over the loudspeaker. "Congratulations white team! Please step off the board for your own safety. Thank you."

Willow, Cordelia and Giles were all at Buffy's side before the announcement was even complete. Xander and Angel were still frantically trying to keep the Slayer alive through their combined efforts. Faith grabbed Spike's arm and began to drag him towards the opposite side of the board. "Come on, Spike. Buffy needs you."

At the sound of her name, Spike's stunned frame of mind gave way to all-consuming rage. He slammed the esophagus onto the floor and disentangled his arm from Faith before striding purposely across the floor, directly towards Drusilla. Without stopping, he grabbed his former love by the throat and lifted her clear off the floor.

"YOU STUPID BLOODY BITCH!" Spike screamed as he threw her to the floor right where Buffy had lain. He stalked over to her and dropped to his knees, scooping up the fallen stake in his good hand. He leaned forward until he was less than an inch from Drusilla's hypnotizing eyes. He could feel her trying to capture him again, but this time it wasn't going to work. "I. Hate. You," he finished with barely a whisper, his blue eyes hard as steel.

Then Drusilla was nothing more than a pile of dust.

Spike stood and dropped the stake into the pile. Without a second glance, he walked off the board just in time, for the entire floor dropped out of the center of the room, sending the rest of the black team members and leftover pawns down into a spiked pit. The screams of pain echoed throughout the room until the floor reassembled itself.

Then there was silence, save for the frantic sound of Angel and Xander trying to save Buffy's life.

Spike's steps slowed as he got closer to the blond on the floor. He took in the scene before him as if it were a movie; the rage he'd felt only moments before vanished into a feeling of nothingness and detachment. He stopped abruptly, pausing two feet away from where Buffy lay, and looked at the others with casual disinterest. Cordelia was behind Xander, rubbing his back in encouragement as he continued to administer mouth-to-mouth. Giles was half-standing next to Angel with Willow and Faith hovering behind them both.

"Willow, pull the van up as close as you can to the doors," Giles instructed, handing her the keys. The redhead ran out of the room without hesitation, bypassing a small, human male dressed in a suit who was entering.

"Congratulations and sympathy all in one," the man said, walking over to the group. Faith grabbed him by the throat in an instant and shoved him up against the wall, lifting him until his feet were off the ground.

"Who the fuck are you and what the fuck do you want?" Faith spat.

"I've come to tell you that the white team has won the Endgame and, because of the Slayer's death, the Vampire need not worry about any further Games. His participation has ended," the man replied calmly, even though the brunette Slayer was choking him.

"Anything else?" Faith said coldly.

"That is all, you are free to leave," he answered with a gasp of breath, his face turning red from lack of oxygen.

"Giles, can I kill him?" the brunette Slayer asked over her shoulder.

"No," Giles replied. "Let him go and get our things together. We are leaving immediately."

Faith snarled in disgust and dropped the man. He straightened his suit, tipped an invisible hat to the group, and left the room. Willow bypassed him again as she ran in. "Van's at the door," she said, grabbing her backpack off the floor. "It's really sunny out there already, but Angel and Spike should be able to make it without a problem."

"Good thing I put up that paper," Giles said mostly to himself, putting his hand on Angel's shoulder. "We need to get her to the hospital."

"I know," Angel grunted between compressions. "I still have no pulse."

"We'll just have to rush her to the van and start again," Giles said wearily. A depression settled over him and he looked up at Spike, who was standing there with a blank look on his face. He lowered his voice and said to the dark-haired vampire, "I think Spike has gone into shock."

"I'll deal with him as soon as I can," Angel replied, stopping his attempts to revive Buffy. "Xander, stop." The second the teen stopped his ministrations, Angel scooped up the blond Slayer and ran for the exit, Willow on his heels.

"Xander, go with them," Cordelia said. "Faith and I will follow." Xander nodded and rose shakily to his feet, quickly leaving.

Faith had her bag over her head and grabbed Spike roughly by the arm. She nodded at Giles, who took his other arm, and they forced him into a fast walk towards the exit. Cordelia looked around the empty game room with its checkered floor, then turned and left.

The van ride to the nearest hospital in Chesterton was made in tense silence. Willow was the one administering mouth-to-mouth as Angel continued CPR. Spike sat on the floor in a corner of the van under a blocked window, his arms wrapped around his knees as he stared at Buffy. Xander sat next to Giles, who was driving pedal to the floor, and had his head leaned against the glass of the side window with his eyes tightly shut.

With a squeal, the Watcher stopped the van under the overhang outside of the emergency exit. Thankful for small favors, he burst from the automobile and flew into the hospital as Xander opened the side door. Angel didn't bother to wait for the gurney as he picked Buffy up once again and ran into the hospital.

"Here!" a doctor yelled as he came through the emergency doors. Angel laid his precious burden down and watched as the medical team swooped around Buffy and wheeled her quickly away.

"Angel," Willow said quietly, taking his larger hand in hers. He looked down at her tear-filled eyes and the weight of the situation came crashing down upon him. All the thoughts and feelings he had blocked off as he worked on Buffy flooded his system and he let out a choked sob. Gathering the redhead in his arms, he held her tightly as the tears came.

"Excuse me, you need to move your van," a nurse said to Giles, who was staring in the direction that Buffy had been wheeled.

"What? O-oh, yes. I shall move it directly," Giles replied. He slowly turned and made his way out of the electronic doors, his body on automation. Cordelia passed him with a distressed look on her face and he absently noted that she went directly to Xander and they embraced like long-time loves.

"Giles," Faith said, bringing his attention to her. She was standing in front of the open side door to the van and gestured with her head to the interior. "Is it safe to bring Blondie inside?"

"Yes," Giles answered, coming to the quick realization that they had forgotten about Spike once again. He looked through the open door and saw that the blond vampire had not moved from his spot, still staring at the floor where Buffy had lain minutes before. "Um, I-I believe your strength may be needed for-for-for this."

"Got it," Faith replied, crawling partially into the van and grabbing Spike by the arm. She shook him hard, trying to get his attention. "Spike, get your undead ass out of the van." When he didn't respond, she sighed and yanked him out. Luckily, he put his feet under him so she didn't need to pull him into the hospital dragging on the ground behind her.

Angel raised his head when Spike and Faith entered. He gave Willow a final squeeze, then stepped away from her. He opened his mouth to say something, but she shook her head. "Go," she told him, her arms wrapping around herself. He gave her a depressed smile and turned to the other vampire.

"Spike," Angel said, moving to stand directly in front of the peroxide-blond. He put both hands on Spike's shoulders and bent to look him in the eyes. "Spike, are you ok?"

Spike heard Angel speaking, but it sounded as though he was speaking in slow-motion. The hospital sounds around them were muffled and, except for his sire, everything he saw was shaky and blurred, as if he was looking at an out-of-focus photograph. He opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out because he didn't know what to say. His brain seemed to have shut down and, though normally he would be upset with this occurrence, right then he found it comforting.

Angel led him over to a row of chairs in the waiting room and pushed him down into one. His sire then took the seat next to him and laid his hand over Spike's unbandaged one, entwining their fingers. A rush of comfort and protection filled him, but he couldn't fathom why, nor did he seem to care. So, he let the feeling be and instead closed his eyes to block out the blurry images assaulting him.

"I called Buffy's mom," Faith said, joining the group in the waiting room. "Glad she had her cell phone on. She didn't seem too surprised when I called, though. It was almost as though she knew already."

"But will she be here?" Willow asked from her seat on the other side of Angel, her hand holding his other one.

"As soon as she can," Faith replied.

"We should probably get our story straight," Xander said suddenly. Cordelia lifted her head from where it rested on his shoulder and turned so that his arm was around her waist. "This isn't Sunnydale. The cops are going to question us."

"Y-Yes," Giles said, removing his glasses to rub his eyes. "I suppose we stick to the truth as-as much as, er, possible."

"Buffy and this girl were fighting, she pulled a gun and shot Buffy," Cordelia said. "Then what?"

"Well, considering she's dust, I'd say she just ran off," Xander replied. "We can give the cops a perfect description, even a name if we want, and they'll never find her."

"Why were we all out anyway?" Willow asked. "Field trip?"

"That doesn't matter, since none of you are minors anymore," Angel answered. "Because of how early it is, we can just say we were on our way to Disneyland and stopped off for something to eat."

"This means I get to be G-man's ho?" Faith said. She sidled up to Giles and linked her arm with his. "Take me, baby-cakes."

Giles replaced his glasses with a shake of his head as the others chuckled slightly. "With great regret, I would have to say yes." Faith gave him an overly dramatic, fake pout and dropped his arm. "As for Drusilla, I agree with Xander. Angel, do-do you recollect her, uh, surname?"

Angel shook his head. "No, I never learned it and once she was turned, I doubt she even remembered."

"I'll draw her," Cordelia said. "That way they won't pick up anyone by mistake."

"Good idea," Giles said. "But wait un-until they question us."

"Damn, I just realized something," Xander said. "They're only going to let family in to see her."

"That's easy, Xand," Faith said. "You be her bro, I'll be sis, Angel can be her big bro and Spike can be her man."

"We're all brunettes and she isn't," Angel told her. "Plus, no family resemblance."

"Well, at least one of us should fake being related to her," Willow said. "At least until Mrs. Summers gets here."

"Angel, I agree with Willow and I think it should be you," Giles said. "You look young enough to be her older brother without causing too much suspicion."

"Ok," Angel replied. "I can also try to overrule the 'family only' policy."

The group fell into silence and a depression settled over them now that they had nothing left to distract them. Cordelia and Xander took seats opposite Angel and Willow, their positions mimicking the vampire and the hacker. Faith paced behind them in the next row, her heavy boots beating a constant rhythm on the floor with her steps. Giles sat on the other side of Spike, his forearms resting on his knees, glasses dangling between his fingers as he closed his eyes and willed for his Slayer to live.

"Slayer."

The word was barely a whisper after an hour of quiet, but everyone heard it. All eyes turned to Spike and they watched as his human face flickered to that of his demon before returning to its smooth planes. Angel let go of Willow's hand and moved so that he was crouching in front of Spike, his hand now turned so it was grasped around the younger vampire's palm. "Spike?" Angel said quietly.

Spike began to visibly shake as the fatal scene played out in his mind in slow, agonizing detail. He saw the bullet enter Buffy's body and come out the other side; her stunned expression; the light going from her vibrant eyes as she fell to the ground; the blood on her shirt. "No," he whispered. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no, No, No, No, No, No, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!"

With his scream of agony, Spike's demon face came forth and he stood abruptly, knocking Angel over. He took one step forward and collapsed onto his knees as his legs stopped working. His body shook violently as he curled over his knees, a loud, pain-filled, animalistic sound emanating from him.

Angel closed his eyes in pain at his childe's cries; the sound meant much more to another vampire than simply the grief-stricken anguish that the humans might have interpreted it as. It was a death wail, rarely heard. Vampires did not normally form attachments that ran so deep that they became a part of the demon's very being, but it was possible. Even if Angel did not possess a soul, his response to Spike's pain would have been exactly the same, the ties of blood between him and Spike moving him to act.

He moved behind Spike in an instant, covering the younger vampire's body with his own, almost as though he were forming a protective shell. His arms were wrapped around Spike's, his hands holding the blond's wrists, as his chin rested on Spike's shoulder. He started making an unusual sound in Spike's ear -- a cross between a purring and growling sound - and held him as tightly as he could.

The others watched on with fascination, knowing they were witnessing something no humans ever see. Xander and Cordelia held hands tightly and Faith moved around to block one side of the aisle, preventing curious onlookers from seeing them. Willow did the same on the other side, glaring at anyone who dared turn in their direction. Her own heart was breaking with the primal sound, wishing she didn't realize that Buffy may very well be gone forever this time.

A doctor came over accompanied by an orderly in blue scrubs. Giles rose to meet them, standing in front of Faith. "Is there a problem here?" the doctor asked.

"No, no problem," Giles replied. As the doctor tried to look around him, the Watcher continuously shifted to block his view. "Do you have any news on Buffy Summers?"

"She was taken up to OR, that's all I can tell you," the doctor said. "We can administer a sedative..."

"Er, hold on," Giles said. He looked over at Xander and Cordelia who were watching him expectantly, waiting for instruction. "Ask Angel if-if we should sedate Spike."

Xander nodded and leaned forward in his chair. "Deadboy? Hey, Angel." He tried to get the dark-haired vampire's attention, but was unsuccessful. He reached out and touched Angel's shoulder and his head shot up, his demon eyes flashing as he let out a snarl at the teen. "Woah, Angel, buddy, it's Xander."

"I got it," Willow said, kneeling next to the two vampires. When she laid her hand on Angel's upper arm, he turned to her and snarled as well, but then she raised her other hand and brushed it across his cheek. Recognition flickered behind his yellowed gaze and she asked, "Angel, the doctor wants to know if we should give Spike a sedative."

"No," Angel answered over Spike's cries, his voice thick with pain. "He should stop any minute."

Willow raised her eyes to Giles and shook her head no just as the blond vampire did as Angel predicted. She stood and looked about, prepared to glared at any onlookers who dared to stare at the couple, while Angel's features smoothed out. Dropping his head again, he returned to his vocalizations of comfort by Spike's ear, the younger vampire's body reduced to trembling under his sire's hold.

The doctor was apparently satisfied and he left with the orderly in tow, promising to bring news of Buffy's status as soon as he heard. Giles swallowed heavily and pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to push away his own pain. Turning back to the others, he surveyed the mis-matched group of individuals that meant everything to him, the two vampires included. Except for the aforementioned two, they were looking to him for guidance on what to do next.

"Cordelia, why don't you and Xander see about appropriating some sort of beverages and food for us," Giles finally said.

"Ok," Cordelia replied, slowly rising to her feet with the dark-haired teen and leaving the waiting area.

"Faith, will you call Mrs. Summers again and find out her location?" Giles asked.

"Sure, Giles," Faith said, giving a quick look over her shoulder at the vampires on the floor before leaving.

"Giles," Willow said. "Angel and Spike are going to need to know where the windows are located so they can avoid them, maybe even a place to go that's private."

"Yes," Giles said. "I suppose I'd better go check."

"I'll stay with them," she told him. Giles nodded and walked away. Willow knelt on the floor again and Angel raised his head, meeting her eyes as he continued to make the low purring/growling sound. She reached out and brushed the lone tear that rolled down his cheek, giving him her strength and comfort so he could concentrate on Spike.

The scene that Joyce came upon as she entered the waiting room destroyed what little composure she had left. Angel sat on the floor with Spike almost on his lap, the older vampire holding his childe's head to his shoulder, as he rested his cheek on the peroxide-blond's hair. She could hear a quiet, soothing sound coming from him as he gently rocked side to side.

Willow sat behind Angel in a chair, her legs curled under her, as she repeatedly ran her fingers through his dark hair. Cordelia was leaning against Xander, whose arm was around her shoulder, her hand clasping his other hand on top of his knee. Faith was studiously playing with a Styrofoam cup, shredding it into tiny pieces, while Giles sat with his face in his hands, elbows resting on his knees.

"Anything?" Joyce asked, the tears she'd been holding back streaming down her face.

"Joyce," Giles said, rising to his feet and taking the woman into his arms. "I'm sorry, no word a-as of yet." She nodded against his shoulder, squeezing her eyes shut to try and stop the pain.

The day slowly passed with little change in the small group's positions or Buffy's condition. The only new occurrence was the arrival of the Chesterton police, who questioned the group and then left to file a report. Joyce had left a message with Buffy's father's answering service, but he had yet to call or come to the hospital. Spike was basically catatonic, his demon face hidden by Angel's embrace the entire time. They were each in various stages of grief, holding onto hope by a fragile thread. None of them allowed to think of what would happen if the tiny, blond Slayer didn't survive.

"Mrs. Summers?"

Six heads shot up at the doctor's voice. Only Angel and Spike remained unchanged as he began to speak. "I'm Dr. Fields. If you would come with me so that I might explain your daughter's condition," he said.

"No," Joyce shook her head. "Anything you have to say to me, you say to everyone. We're all family."

Dr. Fields nodded. "Mrs. Summers, your daughter has experienced acute trauma around the heart due to a gunshot wound at close range. The bullet entered her chest at close to a forty-five degree angle and exited out of her back. She lost a lot of blood and had no pulse or respiratory functions for close to ten minutes before she entered the emergency room. We immediately intubated her and..."

"Skip to the point -- is she alive?" Giles interrupted, holding both Joyce's and Faith's hands tightly in his own.

"She is currently being kept alive by life support," Dr. Fields answered bluntly.

"Can we see her?" Joyce asked in a trembling voice. "All of us?"

The doctor studied the group for a moment, then nodded. "No more than two at a time," he told them. "She's in ICU, room 106."

"Thank you," Giles said before the doctor walked away. "Joyce?"

"Let's go see my baby," Joyce said to him. He nodded and rose with her, looking down at Angel. The dark-haired vampire shook his head no to the unasked question of whether or not Spike should go first.

The two adults left silently, leaving the rest in stunned distress.

"Hey Buffy," Angel said as he half-carried Spike into her hospital room. The blond vampire's head was down, effectively concealing his ridges, though he was still unaware they needed to be concealed. Angel fought down his pain at seeing Buffy hooked up to the various machines, the steady beeping of the monitor the only sign of life in the room. "I brought Spike in to see you," he continued conversationally as he led Spike over to the side of the bed. "He's acting kinda stupid, so I thought you might wanna slap him upside the head for me."

Carefully, he put Spike into the chair next to Buffy, then turned his attention to the small girl. "Oh, Buffy," Angel sighed, reaching out to brush his hand against her cheek. "Don't leave us."

A low growl emitted from Spike and Angel looked down at him. The blond vampire's eyes flashed a warning, the growl becoming more pronounced until Angel removed his hand. Then Spike rose to his feet, pushing Angel away from Buffy with a sharp snarl.

Angel quickly back-peddled across the room to the doorway, away from the animalistic vampire and his mate. He watched as Spike turned to Buffy after a final growl, then slid his duster off of his shoulders. The younger vampire gently covered Buffy with the soft leather, making cooing sounds of worry as he climbed into the bed next to her.

"Angel?" Willow came up beside the dark-haired vampire. He looked down at her and gestured into the room with his head. She peeked around the corner and observed Spike nuzzling Buffy's neck, avoiding the wires and tubes running through her body. She could barely hear the muffled sounds and she watched as his fingers interlaced with the Slayer's, his body as close to hers as he could get.

"He's lost all sense of humanism," Angel told her quietly. "The demon inside of him has reverted to its base, animal-like instincts."

"Is he dangerous?" Willow asked, her own hand seeking and finding Angel's.

"Not really," Angel replied, running his other hand over his face. "As long as I'm here."

"How are you holding up?" she said, concern tinging her voice for him.

"I'm tired," he confessed, pulling her out of the doorway and leaning against the wall. "I haven't done this much as a sire in over a hundred years. Add to that the fact that I now have my soul...I've got all sorts of other concerns I didn't have before when it comes to Spike."

"Like what?"

"Like am I helping him or hindering? Should I force my control on him or let him come to me? Does he even want my help?" Angel replied. "Although, as he is right now, that sort of makes my concerns a moot point."

"Well, I don't know how the whole sire-childe thing works, but I think you're doing a good job," Willow told him. "Over the past twenty-four hours, you've saved his life, protected him from Drusilla, comforted him earlier and held him because he needed to be held. Now, you're watching over him again and I think, in the end, he'll be grateful to you."

Angel gave her a small smile. "You're a wonder, you know that?"

She blushed. "I'm just telling the truth." In response, he brought her hand up to his lips and brushed a kiss over her knuckles.

Angel saw Joyce returning with someone. "Joyce," he said in greeting, stepping back into the doorway.

"Angel, I don't think you've met Buffy's father, Hank," Joyce said, introducing the man beside her.

"No, but Buffy's talked about you," Angel said, extending his hand. "I'm sorry we couldn't meet under better circumstances."

"You're telling me," Hank replied, shaking Angel's hand. "Hello, Willow."

"Hi, Mr. Summers," Willow greeted, scooting into the doorway with Angel to help him.

Angel turned his attention to Joyce. "Spike's in the room right now. I don't know if you can..."

"Spike?" Hank asked with a frown. "Who's Spike?"

"Buffy's, um, boyfriend, I guess," Willow answered, looking up at Angel for clarification.

"He's a little more than that, but that's not why..."

"I want to see Buffy," Hank stated, moving to push past Angel.

Angel stood his ground, not budging under the smaller man's advances. He continued trying to explain the circumstances to Joyce without alerting Hank. "Joyce, he's 'grr' as the girls say," he said. "He's also very protective..."

"You know, Hank," Joyce said, understanding what Angel was implying. "Why don't we give Spike a few more minutes alone. He only just got in there and..."

"Forget it," Hank said, moving Willow out of the doorway. Angel's eyes flashed dangerously and Joyce went to tug on her ex-husband's arm, but he was undaunted. Taking a step closer, he glared up at Angel, then ducked under his arm before he could be stopped. Angel swore and Willow made a squeal of panic as the dark-haired vampire turned to grab Hank, but it was too late. Buffy's father had stepped far enough into the room to see Spike clearly. "What the hell?!"

Spike shot from the hospital bed at Hank's outburst, snarling wildly as he stood protectively in front of Buffy. His body was half-hunched forward and his hands were up, his unbandaged one in a position to claw. His yellow eyes practically glowed in the dim room, his fangs glinting in what light there was.

Hank stumbled backwards as Angel went around him, putting himself between Spike and Buffy's father. The older vampire slipped into his own game face and growled back at Spike. Joyce and Willow both pulled Hank out of the hospital room and into the hallway. Slowly backing away, Angel kept his powerful rumble up until he was in the doorway, where he stopped completely.

Spike stopped his own snarls and sniffed the air. Then he growled a short, final warning before turning back to the bed. He carefully climbed back in beside Buffy, nudging her cheek with his nose and cooing at her.

Angel took a deep breath and let his human mask descend before turning to face the three in the hallway. He took in Joyce's slight confusion, Hank's fear and Willow's panicked gaze and he sighed, "I am getting way too old for this."

Willow couldn't help but burst out laughing and even Joyce chuckled at his statement. He gave the redhead a wry grin, then motioned to Hank. "I think Hank is about to become a member of the...what does Xander call the group again?"

"The Scooby Gang," Willow supplied.

"Wh-wh-what was that?" Hank sputtered, staring beyond Angel to the scene within the room.

"That, Hank, was a vampire," Joyce informed him. "As well as Buffy's boyfriend."

"A-a-a-a-a..."

"I think he's broken," Willow whispered to Angel. He chuckled.

"Come on, Hank," Joyce said. "Let's go into the waiting room. Rupert can explain this much better than anyone can...well, except for Angel." She gave the dark-haired vampire a small smile, then led a still stuttering Hank away.

"I should go help," Willow said. "Or Giles is liable to speak English and no one will understand him." She grinned at her own joke.

"Go ahead," Angel told her after dropping a kiss on her head. "I'll be here if you need me."

"I'll always need you," she replied, then turned and left.

Angel's heart swelled as he watched her go. Then he heard Spike whimper from inside the room and said, "I know, Spike. I'd feel the same way if it was Willow."

"Ok, let me see if I've got this straight," Hank said an hour later. "Buffy is a Vampire Slayer who is in love with a vampire and she fights against evil on a daily basis."

"That about sums it up," Xander said. "Other than you forgot that we help her."

"We help her, Xander," Cordelia said from her seat next to him. "You go for food."

"And a lot of help you've been these past nine months, Miss Chase," he replied. "All those late night tanning sessions sure do help stop the Hellmouth from overflowing."

"I'll have you know I've personally saved at least three people from vampire attacks," she told him. "And they were ugly people, too."

"Your good deeds n-not withstanding, Cordelia," Giles interrupted before the next war between them broke out. "Do you have any further questions, Mr. Summers?"

"I do," Hank said, turning to Joyce. "Why do you let my daughter hang around with these kooks?"

"Hank," Joyce said patiently. "I know it's a lot to swallow in one night, but everything they've said is true. You saw Spike with your own eyes. You heard Angel."

"I think it is more than a lot to swallow," he replied. "How can you let my baby be in there with that monster?"

"Spike's not a monster!" Willow declared. "Well, not anymore, anyway. Not since he fell in love with Buffy."

"Good help, Red," Faith said. "Why don't you tell him about her knockin' boots with Deadboy and his soul-lossage and following reign of terror?"

"Because you just did, Faith," Willow replied. "And leave Angel alone."

"Why? Because you're slappin' skin with him now?" Faith asked.

"Watch it, Faith, or you're going to be wearing a very small pelt," the redhead growled.

"Ladies," Giles said loudly. "That is quite enough."

"Sorry, Giles," Willow said immediately, ducking her head.

"Yeah, sorry, G-man," Faith added a few seconds later.

"Now, Mr. Summers, once more, do you have any further questions?" Giles asked after reprimanding the girls with a look.

Hank opened his mouth to say something when they all heard a loud commotion coming from the direction of Buffy's room. "WILLOOOOW!" they heard Angel yell, followed by a crash.

Willow leapt to her feet and took off down the hallway, Faith on her heels. They rounded the corner and saw Angel pinning Spike flat on the floor, the younger vampire trying to buck his sire off. Faith ran over and added her strength by holding down Spike's legs as the redhead skidded to a stop in front of them.

"Do you have any lavender?" Angel ground out, his teeth clenched tightly together. "Or passion flower?"

"Yes," Willow said, turning and sprinting back the way she came for her backpack. She bypassed the rest of the group as they came hurrying down the hall.

"What is it?" Joyce asked as she came upon the three on the floor.

"Buffy went into arrest," Angel said, his face flickering to his demon face as Spike got a good hit with the back of his head to the dark-haired vampire's jaw. "I had to take him out of there." Xander dropped to one side and grabbed Spike's arm, holding it down. Giles did the same on the other side, leaving the blond vampire only able to snarl loudly at everyone.

Joyce walked around them and gasped when she looked into Buffy's room, seeing numerous doctors and nurses working frantically. "Oh god, my baby."

Hank stood there, wide-eyed, as Willow came tearing back up the corridor. She practically slid across the floor on her knees with her bag, her hands already digging through it. She tossed out zip- lock baggies filled with herbs until she found the one requested. "Lavender," she said, opening it up.

"Crumble a good amount up," Angel instructed, shifting his body so he could move his arm easily. He shifted into game face and bit into his wrist, ripping some of the skin away so it bled freely. Dropping back the human mask, he said, "Mix it in with my blood." Spike threw his head back again and Angel grunted in pain. "Hurry, Willow."

Willow did as told and then Angel shoved his wrist into Spike's face. The blond vampire's nostrils flared and he sank his fangs into his sire's wrist, sucking greedily. "What are you doing, Angel?" Cordelia asked, a worried look on her face.

"Lavender is a calming herb," Willow explained, pulling out one of her spellbooks. She quickly flipped to a certain section and ran her finger down the pages until she found what she was looking for. Under her breath, she chanted,

"Goddess of the moonlight,

goddess of rest,

sooth this creature's savage breast.

Your calming influence is what we need,

an it harm none,

so mote it be."

The redheaded witch made a gesture and a blue light glowed in Spike's eyes. He slowly stopped sucking on Angel's wrist, his body no longer trying to throw anyone off as the magick took effect. Angel gently pulled his arm away and Spike lay his head on the ground, panting heavily, albeit unnecessarily.

"Thanks," Angel said, climbing off the prone vampire and slumping down against the wall. "Damn," he mumbled, bringing his own wrist up to lick the blood off. He was extremely light-headed. Spike took a lot of blood from him, even in that short amount of time.

"Angel?" Willow said worriedly. "Are you ok? You look pale. I mean, paler than normal."

"Yeah," he replied. "I just need to, um...eat soon."

"Cordy and I will go, Deadboy," Xander said, rising to his feet. He took two steps towards Cordelia and froze. "Oh god, Buffy."

Five heads whipped towards where Joyce was standing, no one believing that they'd forgotten about the Slayer. Hank was still paralyzed in his spot, staring down at Spike. "Joyce?" Giles said, rising to his feet and going to her side.

The noises from inside the hospital room were now loud enough to be heard in the hallway.

"Clear!"

"Time?"

"Three minutes, five seconds."

"Up twenty. Clear!"

And through it all, they heard a steady, high-pitched beep.

"There it is! Alright, give her six grams of..."

Joyce slumped in relief against Giles as the doctor's instructions were carried out. Willow had crawled over to Angel and they were holding each other tightly, as were Cordelia and Xander. Faith sat by the calmed Spike, silently throwing up a prayer of thanks to whoever would listen. And Hank still stood there, shaken to his very core.

"We should probably go back to the waiting room," Giles suggested.

"Yeah," Xander said, slightly choked up. "We're gonna go get that blood for you, Angel."

"Thanks," Angel replied, giving the teen a grateful look. Xander nodded and left with Cordelia, arms still around each other.

"What do we do about Spike?" Faith asked. "And the statue over there?"

"I'll take care of Spike," Angel said.

"I'll help," Willow told him.

"Faith, why don't you h-help Mr. Summers back to the, er, waiting room," Giles said.

"Will do," Faith said, standing. She took Hank's arm and started leading him away. "Come on, Mr. S. Let's go get some of that sludge they call coffee here."

"Joyce, come now," Giles said, wrapping his arm around her waist.

"That was too close, Rupert," Joyce murmured. "I'm not ready for my baby to die yet."

"Nor I, Joyce," Giles replied. "Nor I."

"Angel, what are we going to do?" Willow asked after everyone had gone.

"First, we're going to move Spike out of the middle of the floor," Angel said, moving the blond vampire until he was up against the wall. "Then, as soon as all the doctors and nurses clear out, I'm going to take him back in there where he belongs."

"I meant if Buffy doesn't make it," she said quietly.

"I don't know, Willow," he replied. "I honestly don't know."

Once Spike was situated with Buffy again, the leather duster covering her small body, Angel thankfully accepted the stolen blood from Xander and drained it without hesitation. He really didn't care who saw him at that moment, he was so very tired and hungry. Willow stayed by his side the entire time, lending her support and comforting him, as he did for his childe. He really loved the redhead and planned on spending forever telling her that over and over again.

From the doorway of the room, he observed Spike once more as he nuzzled against Buffy, trying to wake her with his purrs and coos. He was much calmer because of the lavender and Willow's spell, although she warned him it wouldn't last more than an hour. He was just glad that she'd been able to help and that the hospital staff had turned a blind eye on the whole cacophony. Maybe he'd just gotten lucky and they didn't see Spike's vampiric face, instead thinking the blond was a hysterical boyfriend.

One thing was for certain, he was exceedingly glad that Drusilla was gone. If she had still been messing with Spike's mind...

Angel let the thought trail off with a shake of his head. He turned when he heard footsteps coming up the hallway and smiled at Willow as she rejoined him after a quick sojourn to the restroom. Silently, she wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him. "I love you, Willow," he told her as he returned the hug.

"You've managed to sink your teeth into my heart, too," Willow replied with a small giggle.

He groaned. "That was bad."

"Yes, I know," she said. "It happens."

Spike's vocalizations suddenly became louder and more pronounced, causing the couple to break apart. The blond vampire's purring rolled across the room, punctuated by rapid whimpers and cooing, as if he were talking with someone. They both watched as he brought his hand up and caressed the side of Buffy's face, then leaned forward and gave her a small lick on the cheek.

Angel cautiously crossed the room and suddenly stopped. Willow bumped into the back of him, the same way as she did in what seemed like ages ago. She didn't make a sound as she peeked around him to see why he had halted abruptly. Then she saw Buffy.

Looking right at them.

"Willow, get the nurse," Angel said, although the redhead had already gone to do just that. He moved up behind Spike and met Buffy's hazel, questioning gaze. A large smile spread across his face and the entire world seem to brighten. Spike was making quite a racket now, as if trying to get Buffy's attention back, and she rolled her eyes, causing Angel to laugh. "Welcome back, Buffy. We've missed you. Some more than others," he added with a nod to the blond vampire.

Carefully, he laid his hand on Spike's arm and his childe's yellowed gaze turned to him, still chattering away. He frowned at Angel, but when the dark-haired vampire slid into game face and began 'talking' back, his face lightened and Angel was able to get him out of the bed just as the nurse and Dr. Fields came back with Willow.

Turning them both so the medical staff wouldn't see their faces, Angel tried to get Spike to be quiet, but was having a very difficult time. **Perhaps the lavender mixed with blood wasn't such a hot idea,** Angel thought.

"Well Ms. Summers, what do you say about getting that tube out of your throat?" Dr. Fields asked. Buffy must have nodded enthusiastically because the doctor laughed. "Ok, on the count of three, blow like you're blowing up a balloon. Ready? One. Two. Three."

Buffy immediately started to cough as the doctor continued to check her over. When she stopped, the very first words out of her mouth were, "Did I die again?"

At the sound of her voice, gravelly as it was, Spike whipped his head around and it was all Angel could do to prevent the vampire from launching himself at her. Buffy arched a brow at the two vamped-out men, then made sure to distract the doctor and nurse from looking in their direction. "So, um, what happened?"

"You were shot, Buffy," Willow explained from near the end of the bed.

Buffy frowned. "Oh. That sucks."

"I'll say," Willow agreed heartily. "Oh! I should go tell the others. Your dad's here and everything! Although he had a big shock when he met Spike, but I won't tell you about that right now. I'll just go now and tell you later. You will still be alive later, right?"

"I plan on it," Buffy told her solemnly as the doctor checked her vitals. Other than a really bad pain in the middle of her chest and a sore throat, she felt pretty good. Like she'd had a great nap with really wonderful dreams involving Spike and chocolate ice cream, her two favorite things.

"Ms. Summers, for a girl who was basically dead twice today, you are remarkably well," Dr. Fields commented, wrapping his stethoscope around his neck.

"Does that mean I can go home? I don't like hospitals," Buffy said.

"No, I don't think you'll be leaving just yet," he replied with a laugh. "But we'll be sure to make your stay here at Chesterton Hospital a pleasant experience."

"Give me something for my sore throat and throw in some chocolate ice cream and you got yourself a deal," she said. The doctor smiled broadly as he shook his head in mock defeat and left the room, nurse in tow.

The second they were out the door, Angel released Spike and practically fell to the floor as the blond vampire rushed over to Buffy and climbed back into the bed. As it was, he upended the chair and smacked the back of his legs pretty hard. After regaining his footing, he put on his human mask and grinned at the Slayer, who was being happily embraced by an ecstatic vampire. "I think I'll leave you two alone for a few minutes."

"Wait, what's going on?" Buffy asked with her rough voice, trying to fend off Spike's nipping and licking mouth. "Why's Spike in game face? And why is he making all this noise? I feel like I'm in a pet shop."

"He should settle down shortly," Angel told her. Spike let out one long coo of delight and the dark- haired vampire shook his head with a chuckle. "Or not. I think I may have made him high by mixing lavender with my blood to calm him down earlier."

"You drugged my boyfriend?" she said. "Good going."

"I try," he replied, then turned to leave again.

"Angel, you didn't answer my question. Why is he acting like an over-excited puppy-dog who thinks he's a cat?"

"Remember what you told me I was like when I first got out of Hell?" Angel said. She nodded, then her eyes widened and she glanced down at Spike. "He's running on base instincts right now. Hopefully, once he's calmed down, he'll revert back to his normal, annoying self."

"I miss a lot when I die, don't I?" Buffy commented. She gave Angel a puzzled look as something dawned on her. "Does this mean there'll be a third Slayer? Or a fourth one, considering the doctor said I died twice today?"

"Spike," Buffy said after Angel had left, her voice harsh from the tube that was in her throat. She brought her non-IV'd hand up and ran it through his hair, trying to get his attention. "Hey, motor- mouth. Shush."

Sighing, she kissed his ridged brow as he nuzzled at her neck and he immediately raised his head to look at her. "So, that's what it takes, huh?" she said. She pulled his head down and gently kissed him on the mouth, her eyes falling shut. His multiple sounds cut off as she deepened the kiss slightly, feeling as though she almost lost out on the best thing in her life.

When she broke the kiss, she opened her eyes to see his beautiful blue ones staring back at her. A smile slowly stole across her face. "Hi," she said quietly. He didn't say anything, he only continue to stare at her until he caught her mouth in a mimic of the kiss they'd shared just a moment before. In fact, it was a perfect repeat, even down to the timing. When he raised his head again, he smiled at her then snuggled back down at her side, his mouth brushing over the side of her neck.

"Buffy!" Joyce said, coming in the door with Hank and Giles not far behind. She hurried to the side of the bed not occupied by Spike and kissed Buffy on the forehead. "It's so good to see you, baby."

"It's good to see you, too, Mom," Buffy replied. "Hi, Dad."

"Hi sweetheart," Hank said, taking Joyce's place and kissing the Slayer, as well. "How are you feeling?"

"Sore," Buffy answered. "Like someone shot me in the chest."

"That's because someone did, Buffy," Giles said from the foot of the bed. He gave her a wry smile. "I am certainly glad to see that you are alright."

"Me, too, but I'm kinda missing a big chunk of stuff," Buffy said. "Like, what happened after I was about to stak-stay with you guys."

"It's ok, Buffy, your father knows about you being the Slayer and about the Game," Joyce told her.

"Oh," Buffy replied. "Wait, how?"

"We had to tell him," Giles said, gesturing to the peroxide-blond beside her, who was ignoring everyone but Buffy.

"Oh again," she said. "Well, then, fill me in. Did we win? Is anyone else hurt? And what happened to Drusilla?"

"Um, we won, no one else is hurt a-and Spike staked Drusilla," Giles replied. "Ah yes, and according to some pillo-, er, representative from the Fehu, your 'participation' is no longer required."

"You mean, no more kidnaping me in the middle of the night? No more forcing me to play sick games for other people's entertainment?"

"No."

"I can deal with that," Buffy said. "Ugh, my throat hurts."

"I'll see if I can get you something, Buffy," Hank said.

After he left the room, Buffy looked from Giles to her mom. "We have a problem, guys. Spike is like Angel was when he got back from Hell."

"Y-Yes, we know," Giles replied. "But Angel reverted back to-to, er, normal, so Spike should as well."

"But what do I do until then?" Buffy asked. "I don't think the hospital is going to let him stay, as much as I want him to, and there's that whole feeding thing."

"I am certain Angel will do something, Buffy," Joyce told her. "Now, I know there are a bunch of people waiting their turn to see you...."

Spike paced back and forth in front of the main doors to the mansion and Angel sighed from his spot on the couch. "Will you sit down. She'll be here soon," he said, setting the book on his stomach. The blond vampire shook his head and continued his walk back and forth. "Willow! Will you come tell Spike to stop pacing, he's making me seasick."

"Spike, you're making Angel seasick," Willow said as she came into the room. Spike ignored her and she went over and sat on Angel's stomach, right on the book.

"Hey, get off my book, lazy butt," Angel said, giving her a slight shove. She fell between his legs and grimaced at him as he laughed.

Life had taken an interesting turn for the ensouled vampire, all within a forty-eight hour period of time. He'd gone from an uncomfortable friendship with Willow, to a comfortable one, to finding out his soul was permanent, to telling Willow he loved her and asking her to move to LA with him, to finally ending up staying in Sunnydale with her instead. She attended Sunnydale University with Buffy, both of them living on campus during the week and pretty much at the mansion on weekends.

Staying in Sunnydale was actually an easy choice to make. Spike did not immediately return to his normal self; the trauma of Drusilla's manipulations and the intense forty-eight hours with Buffy's twice-brush with death left an indelible imprint on him. Angel had automatically taken it upon himself to help his childe come back from his animalistic self, slowly rehabilitating the vampire back to humanity.

It had been over six months now, and Spike still rarely spoke, but his usual hyperactivity had returned, as did his love of music, which was cranked to ear-shattering decibels at all hours of the night. Angel had gotten him a piano as a Christmas gift and sometimes he would sit and play haunting melodies, his whole body lost in the music. The dark-haired vampire was glad Spike hadn't forgotten how to play, for the selfish reason that he wouldn't have gotten to hear the beautiful songs his childe played.

One major change that Angel instilled in Spike was not to hunt for blood anymore. He knew that the younger vampire hadn't killed any of the people he fed from when he returned to Sunnydale to be with Buffy, but it was immensely easier not to have to worry about that part of his nature. Instead, they aided Buffy, Faith and the rest of the Scooby Gang in fighting the evil that seemed to gather at the Hellmouth. No third or fourth Slayer ever showed up, so the group assumed none were 'called.'

As for the Fehu, nothing concrete was ever found on them. The tape of the final game was sent to Buffy's mother, addressed to Spike, and a detailed article was written on the Internet, but neither helped in ascertaining who the people -- humans or otherwise - were behind the group. Cordelia finally suggested the Fehu must be just a bunch of rich people with nothing better to do with their time. The matter was officially dropped when Willow read an article on a new Game One: The Jungle, featuring new players.

"There's her car," Willow murmured with an impish grin for Angel. "What's your bet?"

"Over the shoulder and straight to his room," Angel replied. "Just like I did when you got here."

She blushed, but the grin remained. "I think he's going to say something this time," she said. "Then over the shoulder and to his room."

"Do you know something I don't?"

"Maybe. Maybe not. You'll never know," she teased. He reached over and tweaked her nose.

Spike hated waiting for Buffy. During the week, he never got time to be alone with her, and it always seemed to take her longer and longer to get there on the weekends, which led to him becoming frustrated because he couldn't express his ire very well vocally. He usually just ended up grunting at her and then shagging her until she collapsed. Which was fun, too, but he'd rather she'd be early so they could do that for longer. The weekends seemed too short as it was.

He heard her car pull up and stopped pacing, stepping back a few feet from the doors so as to not get hit by the sun. He debated how he was going to pounce on her this time, as her footsteps came up the drive. When she opened the door, he made sure to scowl at her so she knew he was irritated.

"Oh, stop making faces, Spike," Buffy told him as she shivered from the cold mid-February weather, pushing the door shut behind her. "Didn't your mother ever tell you that your face would stick like that?"

His scowl deepened in reply.

Buffy rolled her eyes and glanced past him at Willow and Angel. "Hey guys, has my man been driving you crazy with all his talking?" Spike took a step towards her and she held up her hand. "Wait, before you haul me off to have your wicked way with me, I have something for you." She reached into the pocket of the long, well-worn, leather duster and pulled out a small, wrapped package. "Ta-da."

Spike took the proffered gift and frowned, giving her a questioning look. He turned it over in his hands several times, wondering what the gift was for. Then he decided to just open it and find out for himself. Off came the paper, which fell noiselessly to the ground as he stared at the object in his hand, a large smile crossing his face.

"Do you know what today is?" Buffy asked with a grin.

"I love you, Buffy," Spike said, his voice rough from disuse.

"I love you, too, Spi-eeek!" she replied with a shriek as she was hoisted over his shoulder and carried off towards his room.

Willow giggled as she heard the door slam and looked at Angel. "I win, pay up," she said, holding her hand out.

"What did she get him?" Angel asked, tickling her palm with his fingers.

"Oh, I think you'll know right about...," she trailed off as loud heavy-metal music started blaring from down the hall. "Now."

Welcome to the Jungle, we got fun and games, we got everything you want and we know your name....

Tell the author what you think:

| Return to Fiction Index | Return to Main |